Valley joins hands for survivors

Unlike the tsunami and the Bhuj earthquake, the Kashmir tragedy does not seem to have generated a wave of charitable response from the rest of the country—at least till now. And when CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed listed the national NGOs that have come forward, he had just a single name—Rajiv Gandhi Foundation that donated 60,000 blankets and 44 tonnes of sugar.

There has been no tangible contribution from the country’s major business houses, either. Even Bollywood, which recently returned to its favourite location for shooting several blockbusters with the J-K government’s support, hasn’t reacted.

Apart from PM Manmohan Singh’s Rs 650-crore package, help has come from the chief ministers of seven states—Andhra has offered the highest amount of Rs 2 crore. The only neighbouring state government that has sent its emissaries is Punjab—Sports Minister Rana Balbir Singh Sodhi and Animal Husbandry Minister Jagmohan Singh are here.

Yet, far from being disheartened, the local relief campaign is gathering pace. Consider this:

• Before a relief stall set up by two young volunteers outside the mosque of Malik Anagan, Fatehkadal, is a heap of clothes donated by residents. One of the volunteers, Firdous Ahmad, is announcing on the public address system: ‘‘You can donate anything… Their children are dying. They are in desperate need of warm clothes.’’

Says Ahmad: ‘‘The state government is not doing anything. It is the responsibility of the people. We have learnt this in the past 16 years. We don’t expect a wave of support from outside Kashmir. We know it won’t come.’’

• Outside the Salfia mosque in Gowkadal, two bearded old men have spread a sheet on the roadside to collect relief material—clothes, rice and cash.

• In downtown Malarata, five boys have collected a pile of clothes, a large number of utensils and bags of grains.

• At nearby Pandan, another stall has been set up to collect rice. The signboard reads: ‘Insaniyat ki Pukar’ (Call of Humanity).

• There is a group of teenagers at Khanyar mosque, collecting money, clothes, rice and other essentials. A few children are helping them. ‘‘There is a wave,’’ says Muzaffar Ahmad Bhat, a resident.

Other than from the Army, inaccessible villages along the LoC, ahead of Julla in Uri, have received relief material—especially food, clothes and water—from groups of local volunteers. In fact, a group of 300 youth from Baramulla town were seen trekking with rice and flour bags, water bottles and other food material, ignoring the heavy rain.

In the queue are mosque committees, local industrialists, volunteers, separatist outfits, and even students. Girls from the College of Education have put up a stall on the busy M A Road here to collect aid. Students of the University of Kashmir, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Government Polytechnic College, Degree College Sopore, and Government College Baramulla have also sent volunteers and aid to Uri and Tangdhar.