Central teams get down to work

With primary relief operations in worst-affected Uri and Tangdhar being mostly carried out by the Army, the political apparatus and relief agencies, the two Central teams sent to Srinagar are focusing on quake assessment, rehabilitation and reconstruction in J-K.

Preliminary assessments show that the state would need assistance to design and rebuild a minimum of 5,000 houses which have been completely destroyed, officials in the Urban Development Ministry said.

Apart from the Rs 500 crore relief package that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged yesterday and Rs 32 crore that has been given from the Central Relief Fund, HUDCO has set aside Rs 250 crore (as concessional loan) for J-K and also free technical assistance for reconstruction and retrofitting public buildings with quake-resistant designs. This HUDCO corpus fund would be primarily used to rebuild houses, officials said.