NEW DELHI, 10 January 2005 — India’s government said yesterday it would set up an early warning system and disaster management authority amid criticism it is not doing enough for people orphaned or made homeless by the tsunami disaster.
The decisions were taken at an all-party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, a day after his whistle-stop tour of two of India’s worst hit regions — southern Tamil Nadu state and the Andamans archipelago.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters after the three-hour meeting that a bill formally proposing the setting up of the disaster management authority would be introduced in the next session of Parliament.
Patil said India would be “part and parcel” of all international efforts aimed at setting up a tsunami alert system.
Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was also present at the briefing, said leaders demanded “an early warning system should be evolved” to prevent further catastrophes like the tsunamis.
“The prime minister readily agreed... a committee has been constituted to look for the best technology available,” Mukherjee told reporters.
Sushma Swaraj, a leader of India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) told reporters the government had accepted the suggestion “that India should be part of the international warning system.”
The meeting came in the wake of criticism from the BJP that rehabilitation efforts were unsatisfactory. Swaraj said many political parties “found it difficult to send relief directly to their activists for distribution.”
The all-party meeting was conducted peacefully. The government and the opposition agreed on not scaling down Republic Day celebrations because of the tsunami tragedy.
Mukherjee said that although the tsunami disaster was a national calamity, there was no proposal from any party to tone down the Jan. 26 parade. BJP’s Swaraj said separately that this issue did not even surface at yesterday’s meeting.
Describing the Republic Day as a “historic day” in the country’s freedom struggle, Mukherjee said: “It is not correct to say any political party suggested any scaling down of the Republic Day celebrations. This is an observance of national day and achievements of the nation and not associated with festivities.”
Asserting that there was no need to tone down the Republic Day parade, Swaraj said: “It (Republic Day) has nothing to do with festivities. It demonstrates the nation’s strength and capability. It would only serve to boost the morale of the people.”
The country’s official toll in the tsunami disaster inched higher Saturday with at least 10,022 people confirmed killed and 5,617 missing, most feared dead.
Some of the suggestions put forth at the meeting included the construction of houses at a “distance from the actual sea shore, special care for orphans and widows... a massive operation for adopting the orphan children... and the adequate arrangement for counseling,” Mukherjee said.
The government has estimated the tsunamis caused $1.6 billion worth of damage.
While there is no bill for the battered Andamans, preliminary reports put the tally at nearly $600 million. Compensation for relatives of the dead is put at more than one billion rupees ($23 million).
— Additional input from agencies
