Friday, October 21 2005 12:59 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kamalkote (J&K): Less than a fortnight after the monster earthquake devastated Uri and Tangdhar areas of Jammu and Kashmir, allegations of malpractices in relief distribution have surfaced forcing the authorities to issue a stern warning to the concerned officials.

"No revenue official has come to assess the damages caused by the earthquake but the government has already said distribution of cash relief has started in the affected areas. I don't know where has the relief gone," Mohammad Iqbal, who used to live in a hamlet on a hill close to Line of Control here, told sources.

Iqbal, who now lives in a tent shelter after his entire village was flattened by the 7.4 magnitude temblor on October 8, said relief work was tardy and only VIPs were visiting the area.

"We have not seen any ground staff here for assessment of the damages. But VIPs have been coming over the past couple of days," he said.

Admitting that complaints of malpractices have been received, Jammu and Kashmir Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen said stern action would be taken against erring officials.

Mohammad Akram, an elderly man who lives in the nearby Sultan Daki village, alleged that revenue officials who had come to assess damages in his village were favoring influential survivors of the area.

Some families who were living under one roof have been shown a single family while in certain cases a single family has been divided into three to get more cash relief, he said.

"All the officials who are guilty of manipulating the relief distribution, be it of any rank, will be taken to task as per the rules," Yaseen told a gathering of people during a visit to this worst-hit village.

To prevent any corrupt practices in relief distribution, the Government has decided that those who assess the damages will not be handing out relief supplies, he said.

Revenue and relief officials said they were proceeding strictly according to the guidelines of the government on issuing relief to the affected people.

On not reaching out to far flung areas, they said the villages are small and located miles apart from each other which has made it difficult to reach there. "

We will be completing the assessment process in the next couple of days," they added.

However, the ground reality contradicted some of their claims. Villagers in some areas in Uri tehsil, which were not badly affected by the quake, were also receiving the relief material.

The Government is distributing four blankets and an equal number of biscuit packets to each ration cardholder irrespective of the family strength.

"What is the logic behind this move? I have a family of eight and we have been given four blankets while those families, which have only three members, have also got the same amount of relief," said Salima, an elderly woman of Boniyar village.

It is pertinent to mention here that most of the Boniyar residents and some adjoining villages in close vicinity should not have been entitled to the relief material as most of the structures are standing and intact.