Monday, October 10 2005 18:37 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Srinagar: Struggling to cope with the devastation wrought by the quake, Jammu and Kashmir Government today (Oct 10, 2005) intensified its relief operations by pressing more policemen into the exercise while the air force began air dropping food packets and water bottles in the ravaged unreached areas as the toll crossed 800.

In addition to the army's largest peacetime rescue and rehabilitation exercise in the state called 'operation Imdad' or help, air force undertook seven sorties to worst affected Kupwara and Baramulla districts and dropped food packets and water bottles, chief secretary Vijau Bakaya said admitting that 14 villages in Tangdhar remained inaccessible on the third day after the tragedy struck.

Amidst protests from hapless victims, Bakaya said the Government was making all out efforts to approach the unreached areas and air force would air drop food and water on a regular basis to these areas from today.

The State Government has already pitched 1900 tents in the worst hit Uri and Tangdhar sectors where the damage in terms of people killed, injured or property was immense as it was closest to the epicentre of the quake in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir capital of Muzaffarabad.

According to Bakaya, over 755 people - 735 in Kashmir valley and 20 in Jammu - were killed and 2413 injured and nearly 4600 houses damaged across the state. This was apart from the 50 soldiers and paramilitary personnel, who according to Union home Ministry had been killed in Saturday's quake.

Assuring all possible help to the thousands rendered homeless in the 'shortest possible time,' Bakaya acknowledged that the magnitude of task was big and "we are in need of 15,000 more tents to provide shelter to affected families."

"We are making arrangements for procuring these tents and 5,000 are expected to reach by this evening," he said adding that they would be immediately rushed to Uri and Tangdhar regions.

Defending reports that government had failed to reach many affected areas, he said while the army could be spotted due to its uniform, the efforts of civil administration officials 'doing much more service often goes unnoticed'.

However, he quickly added that the armed forces and civil authorities are working in coordination to meet the challenge and reach the distressed people in every nook and corner of the state.

He said Deputy Commissioners and senior administration officials had fanned out to reach the people and medical teams have been dispatched to the affected areas to attend to the injured.

Twenty-one teams of doctors are working round the clock in Uri and Tangdhar sectors since yesterday and 15 ambulances have been deployed in these areas which was in addition to the medical assistance being provided by armed forces in these areas, he said.

Echoing the sentiments of Bakaya, Director General of state police Gopal sharma termed as 'unfortunate' the complaints that government was not providing adequate help to the affected villages.

Bakaya said two companies of Indo-Tibetan Border Police were already engaged in rescue and relief operations in the worst hit areas of north Kashmir.

He said generator sets had been sent to the affected areas in Uri and Tangdhar to provide electricity for essential services like makeshift hospitals.

However, he said water supply was a problem in the affected villages as there were only six water tankers in the area for catering to the survivors in the wake of damage to water supply schemes.

"We are doing everything possible to repair the water supply schemes and rushing in more generator sets to temporarily restore the water supply," he said.

The chief secretary said Government has already announced free ration for a month to the victims.

He said two truckloads of food packets and water bottles donated by NGOs had been kept for the victims and 4400 blankets were distributed among the affected people in Baramulla district and another 2500 in Kupwara district.

According to figures available with the Government, a total of 4597 houses have been damaged across the state. While Kashmir valley accounted for 4071, with Baramulla and Kupwara bearing the brunt with nearly 2800 damaged structures, 657 houses were destryoed in Anantnag, 380 in Badgam, 214 in Srinagar and 20 in Pulwama district.

In Jammu region, 526 houses were damaged which included 268 in Poonch district, Bakaya said.