Too early, we need some time: India Inc

• Big companies do rehabilitation and rebuilding work, not immediate relief.

These are just some reluctant responses, all off the record, to Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq’s remonstrations against India Inc’s lack of haste in sending relief to Kashmir.

Mumbai’s corporates, which rushed assistance to earlier disaster zones, are now waiting for the government and Army to indicate what spaces it will open to those wishing to help.

Adi Godrej didn’t want to comment on whether aid for Kashmir had been discussed, but said: ‘‘The government is doing its bit, corporates take a little more time.’’

Wipro Care, the IT major’s corporate social responsibility arm built on donations from employees and matched by the company, was involved in the rebuilding of post-cyclone Erasama, Orissa in 1999, post-quake Bhuj, Gujarat in 2001 and in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, after the tsunami. ‘‘We met on Monday morning, two days after the quake, and decided to wait,’’ said Sandhya Ranjit, Bangalore-based manager of community initiatives at Wipro.

Thermax chairperson Anu Aga—keenly involved in disaster relief in Bhuj—admitted her team was yet to consider how to assist in relief work in Kashmir but assured that help would be on its way soon.

But admittedly, corporate India had responded quicker for Bhuj—with blankets, thousands of units of blood, medicine and food-packets. One wary MD even said the Army and government are so deeply involved in Kashmir that it seemed better to wait rather than rush in over-enthusiastically.

Bollywood’s response, too, has been less zestful. Film-maker and Kashmiri Ashok Pandit said the main difficulty is in getting to Baramulla. But he’s planning a trip next week as well as an appeal to pharmaceutical companies for supplies. ‘‘I’ve been in touch with the Jammu Club and am sending supplies to them,’’ said Pandit. Actor Rakesh Bedi and the Indian Motion Pictures Association wants to help too, he said.

Rahul Bose, just back from the Andamans, said he’d be sending money to Delhi-based NGOs through Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP). ‘‘We feel sending cash is a good idea and since we don’t know the exact situation in Kashmir, we’re trusting the Delhi NGOs who have a better idea,’’ Bose said.

(With Sulakshana Gupta and Harneet Singh)

Rs 1.3 cr from Infosys to Pak

ISLAMABAD: Software giant Infosys has contributed Rs 1.3 crore for earthquake victims in Pakistan. ‘‘India’s Infosys has announced aid for quake victims in the country,’’ Pakistan Defence spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan said today. — PTI