PAKISTAN DISASTER Practical relief begins in earnest

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32461, 23 November 1970, Page 15

PAKISTAN DISASTER Practical relief begins in earnest

fN.Z.P.A.-Renier—Copyright? DACCA, Nov. 22. The international relief mission to save hundreds of thousands of shocked, hungry and homeless survivors of the cyclone and tidal wave in East Pakistan is under way at last, more than a week after the disaster struck. British and American aircraft are flying essential supplies into Dacca, and a task force of four Royal Navy vessels, led by the assault ship H.MJS. Intrepid, is moving into the disaster area.

A force of 30 British commandos from the Intrepid have already been sent to Patukhali, one of the worst-hit districts, taking medical supplies and food with them. J The death toll in the disaster, one of the worst in the history of mankind, is put officially at 168,000. But Pakistani relief official-; agree that the figure could run into several hundreds of thousands. Indeed, the actual toll of victims on the many islands and intricate waterways of the Ganges Delta region may never be known. The greatest need of relief workers is still for helicopters, and these are arriving at last Several, flown in by .Royal Air Force Hercules transport aircraft from Singapore, have already surveyed the flooded islands. Four American Huey helicopters also arrived in Dacca and four more are expected in the next day or so. As the huge transport aircraft flew in and out of Dacca, two West German Boeing aircraft were working out of Chittagong, East Pakistan’s second city. Dacca Airport has seen nothing like it before; much of the space there has been monopolised by relief flights. One American airliner flew in

laden with 90,0001 b of high protein food. As the relief work continues, the rescue officials have one consolation: the expected epidemic outbreak of cholera has not materialised. Only a few isolated cases have been reported. About 3000 part-time auxiliary troops have been mobilised in East Pakistan to bury the dead, and the relief commissioner (Mr Abu Mohammed Anizuzzaman) says he hopes the task can be completed in four days. He has suggested that it might be more beneficial to keep the foreign relief workers, in Dacca, and send Pakistani doctors and nurses to the most distressed islands. The commissioner told reporters today that about 85 per cent of the livestock in the area and 90 per cent of the poultry had been drowned. Three cargo aircraft carrying four large helicopters have left the United States for Pakistan, and Mr Maurice Williams, the head of the United States disaster action group, says that 14 planeloads of helicopters, food, medicine, clothing and other supplies have now been provided by America from the SUSIOm allocation made by President Nixon.

“The magnitude of the disaster and the suffering can be realised by the fact that there are 150,000 known dead an estimated 600,000 missing and about one million survivors whose crops, homes and

cattle have been destroyed,” Mr Williams said. “They are threatened not only by starvation, but cholera, which is endemic to the region, and typhoid.” The stream of relief donations reaching Dacca has included one of more than 54,000 rupees (nearly $10,715) from the veteran campaigner Mr Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, “The Frontier Gandhi.” Mr Khan, who now lives in Afghanistan, campaigned first against the British then against the Pakistani Government for autonomy for the North-West Frontier tribesmen. His son, Mr Khan Ali Khan, leads the pro-Moscow group of the National Awami Party in Pakistan. Aid postponed Yesterday, the League of Red Cross Societies announced in Geneva that it was postponing further air shipments of relief aid, apart from those already arranged, because of the stockpiling of supplies in Dacca. But the league recommended that shipments by sea of powdered milk, blankets, warm clothing and other supplies should continue. Its communique said that food needs were adequate for the immediate future, but cash was still needed for the local purchase of many items, including traditional clothing, household utensils and kerosene lamps. Gifts from 31 national Red Cross societies received up to yesterday totalled more than 12 million Swiss francs (about $2,568,600). The league added that its special delegate, Mr Jurg Vittani, had told headquarters in a cable after flying over the disaster area that life was going on for the survivors, though the mud houses in the area were 100 per cent destroyed. Damage to those with iron roofs amounted- to 50 per cent. The league added that in an attempt to break through the telecommunications bottleneck it was now facing, it had agreed with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva that a volunteer radio operator would fly to East Pakistan with a portable radio transmitter belonging to the committee. Help from India India has announced a contribution of more than 10 million rupees (sl2m) worth of relief supplies. The Prime Minister (Mrs Gandhi) told Parliament: “This has been done as an expression of our friendship and concern for the people of East Pakistan.” Besides the supplies, the Government has decided to send two 50-bed mobile hospitals to the .disaster area, complete with doctors and other crew. Manned river

boats will also be sent The Government of Kashmir, the dispute over which state has led to two btiter wars between India and Pakistan, has said that it will give 50,000 rupees ($5800) toI wards the relief fund.