Roofing material needed for two million evacuees
By A Staff Reporter, India needs roofing material for over two million evacuees who are still without any shelter.
The problem was highlighted by an official spokesman of the Ministry of Rehabilitation at a meeting with the representatives of different international organizations in Calcutta on Monday.
He stressed the urgency of providing these evacuees with some sort of shelter because of the heavy monsoon in Eastern India.
He asked international relief organizations to supply all kinds of roofing material for providing shelter to the evacuees crossing over to India. He assured that difficulties in getting consignments of relief supplies cleared through the Customs would be overcome.
The need for diphtheria vaccines, double antigen and triple-antigen as precautionary measures against the possible outbreak of diphtheria in the camps was also emphasized in the meeting.
Meanwhile, the Acting Consul-General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. K. H. Kuhna made a token delivery of a modern portable field hospital to Col. P. N. Luthra, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Rehabilitation at a simple function in Calcutta on Tuesday.
The sixty-bed hospital, equipped with two ambulances, dispensary, operation facilities and other equipment has been donated by the West German Government for treatment of Bangladesh evacuees.
Medico International, a German relief organization, will install the hospital at Salt Lake. A team of seven doctors and nurses has accompanied the hospital to hand it over to the Indian Medical Association and to explain its working to them.
In addition to the hospital, a fleet of five ambulances and other relief material like tarpaulins, medicines and plas.
The committee comprises five charities-British Red Cross Society, Christian Aid, OXFAM, Save the Children Fund and War On Want.
Goods to a future value of £ 19,000 are scheduled for despatch this week and include blankets, tents, Land Rovers and medical supplies.
The India-Pakistan Relief Fund now stands at more than £1,200,000.
The British voluntary organization, OXFAM is launching a new drive in Britain today to raise about £ 300,000 (Rs. 54,00,000), which will be spent on medical aid, sanitation and supplementary feeding for the evacuees.
According to information received from Tokyo, 3200 Nos. (130 tons) of Polythene tent sheets which were bought in Japan by UNICEF will reach India in the next few days.
Reference: Hindustan Standard, 15.07.1971