The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Monday, January 29, 2001,
Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I N N E W S

Hope dims as time passes
From R. Suryamurthy
Tribune News Service

AHMEDABAD, Jan 28 — With each passing hour, the hope of extricating those trapped under the debris is getting dim.

Hundreds of people still buried under the concrete slab and residents are getting frantic for help which is slow to come by. Time is running short for all those buried under the debris of high-rise buildings as more than 48 hours have passed since the Bhuj quake hit the country.

With Ahmedabad continuing to receive aftershocks, some touching 5 on the Richter scale, the rescue operation is getting difficult. Pain-staking wait by the parents of Swaminarayan School in the city is continuous. More than 60 children of class XI of this school were buried in the quake.

Despite January 26 being a holiday, the students along with their teachers had gone to the school to attend special laboratory session and prepare for the examination beginning next week.

The Rapid Action Force, which has been deployed in the city for rescue operation, continued its effort, with parents waiting anxiously, hoping against hope that their child would be alive.

Dashabhen Shah, mother of Mahesh, waiting for her child to be extricated from the school debris, with tears rolling down here cheeks said, “My instincts say he is alive. The rescue workers should do something to bring him out alive.”

However, the rescue work has been largely affected due to lack of adequate equipment. Municipal Commissioner K Kailashnathan has said that the extent of damage is too widespread for the present infrastructure to deal with.

In the absence of enough 40-tonne cranes, rescue workers are breaking the slabs into smaller pieces before lifting them away. Several heavy duty equipment, concrete cutters, gas cutters, large cranes are expected to arrive here by early Monday from different parts of the country. With these equipment, the rescue operations would be faster. But, for those trapped inside and those waiting, every moment is taxing for them, precious and they can hardly do anything than, just wait and pray.

Special trains run despite bad tracks
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan 28 — As the country stood united once again behind the government, working overtime to provide relief to the quake-hit victims of Gujarat, the Railways has been providing another vital link for the people of the region.

Despite fresh tremors hitting the region, which has hampered efforts under way to repair the damaged tracks, the Railways ran special trains today also, ferrying not only the relief material but also rescue teams and relatives of the victims, free of cost.

According to reports reaching here, there has been extensive damage to the railway tracks in the region. As a result, rail traffic continued to remain disrupted in major parts of the state. The bridges, cabins and other railway buildings have also been severely affected.

As a result of the damage to the tracks, the trains have also been delayed.

Several trains were cancelled today, including those to Gandhidham. The trains cancelled included the Gandhidham Express, Gandhidham-NCG Express between Ahmedabad and Gandhidham, 112 Passenger between Halvad and Gandhidham and Passenger services between Dahinsara and Navlakhi.

Train movement on the BG main line between Palanpur and Abu Road was halted between 9.50 am and 11.30 am, following reports of cracks on a bridge between Chitrasani and Jethi stations. The bridge was cleared for traffic only at 20 kmph at about 11.30 am after a thorough inspection.

The Saurashtra Mail and Bandra Jamnagar Express were terminated at Rajkot on account of damage to tracks and cracks on two bridges en-route.

On the Viramgam-Gandhidham BG route, the line has been certified up to Maliya Miyana. The Harkiya Bridge between Indiranagar and Surbari is likely to be restored later today.

The Railways has also set up emergency cells, which are operating round the clock at Railway Board, New Delhi, Western Railway in Mumbai and in Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Rajkot and Vadodara.