Children For Sale
For as little as Rs 3,000, impoverished parents sell their children to adoption centres and unscrupulous operators in Andhra Pradesh, who in turn earn up to Rs 3 lakh from foster families. A look at the people involved, the law and where the process went wrong.

Amma Turns Red
J. Jayalalitha's hopes for contesting the elections have been dashed with the rejection of her nomination papers. But this does not deter her from stepping up her campaigning efforts for the AIADMK and assuming an aggressive stance.

Past Tense
The muted reaction of the Government to the massacre of the BSF troops raises many questions. A look at the past skirmishes between the BSF and BDR gives an insight into what led to the heightening of tension at the border.

Coming To Life
With the end of state monopoly, private insurance companies are offering wider risk coverage and better customer relations.

Starting Over
It's been three months since nature shook Gujarat, killing over 30,000 and shattering dreams. Despite government promises and generosity of individuals, rehabilitation is still to touch the lives of many. The story in pictures.

PHOTO FEATURE: KUTCH, GUJARAT

Starting Over

THIS IS A GRUESOME REMINDER: It's now three months since nature shook Gujarat till 30,000 lay dead and wastelands blossomed where people's dreams once stood.

Much has happened since January 26, a lot of it a triumph of spirit and generosity. Much has also happened that damns the government-expedient bombast is a key element-and highlights glib promises that disappear along with media glare. Nobody doubts the magnitude of the earthquake. Kobe, Japan, where a quake in 1995 killed over 5,000, took five years for complete rehabilitation. But the difference between Kobe and Kutch is in communication and attitude. There a nation decisively pulled together for speedy, common good. Here state machinery is often in the way.

When in early February Chief Coordinator for Earthquake Relief L. Mansingh ordered the PWD to clear debris in Bhuj, he was told the order would have to come from Gandhinagar, the state capital. A decision on sites to dump debris took 70 days; a Rs 25 crore tender to clear this rubble was okayed only last week. Rehabilitation is yet to touch tens of thousand of people. It got so bad that last week, over 5,000 marched from Bhachau to the collector's office in Bhuj-a distance of 67 km-in scorching heat to protest delays. A skewed policy stating that only villages that have suffered over 70 per cent damage can receive NGO help has led to quibbling, amid rubble, of which village has suffered how much damage in hasty, sometimes faulty surveys.

So it is good that some NGOs and angels, both corporate and individual, are coming through. That is how shelters are getting built, people are finding their feet-or food to eat-and many children are rediscovering school in a life after death. If it weren't for them, and grit the state's common folk could take a patent out for, Gujarat would still be in stasis.

Sure, time heals. If the Government reeled in some slack, the healing would get a headstart.

The Fitting

Eight-year-old Jayesh Sanghar from Nawagaon is measuring up-for an artificial leg. Jayesh is just one who crowds a small camp at Bhujwadi run by the Shroff Foundation from Mumbai, that has fitted over 500 prostheses for the severely injured. There's little Salma Changhal from Jabdak, 3 and missing a left leg. Strap on a new limb, though, and she sparkles. Salma asks her mother for an anklet. And Jayesh develops a world view: "My new leg is not as good as the original but now I can play cricket again."

Home Life

A few earthquake-proof structures have come up near Bhuj as showcases. But these belong to a fortunate few. In February the state Government announced that by March 31 it would make 1,000 makeshift houses in Bhachau and would provide land, complete with power, drinking water and sanitation facilities, besides Rs 12,000, to each of the 15,000 affected families in Bhuj. Plus, tin sheets would be given to 3,500 families in Anjar for makeshift shelters. It worked in Anjar, but the government backtracked in Bhachau. In Bhuj only 3,500 families have been allotted land.

The Pile-Up

This scene in Bhujwadi is played over and over in Kutch: life amid ruins. Or rubble that never seems to go way. Though about 3,85,000 tonnes of rubble have been cleared from Kutch district, an estimated twelve times that amount remains to be cleared. Effective rebuilding and rehabilitation can't happen without it-and few are willing to relocate. The only rubble-free towns in Kutch are Gandhidham and nearby Adipur which the Kandla Port Trust, under specific orders of the Shipping Ministry, has cleaned up.

Spirit, Anyone?

Parth and Pinak Bhinde, brothers aged 11 and 12, love to play tennis. So they trek every Sunday through the rubble of an Anjar street where 250 schoolchildren perished, stop to pay respects and head on for a game at the Anjar Gymkhana. All that is left is the tennis court. It's enough. "We go to visit them just to remind ourselves that we are the fortunate ones," says Parth. "We are left here to be good human beings and keep alive the Kutchi spirit." It's everywhere. Like the sign in Bhuj market at a flattened shop. "Bhupendrakumar & Co. New address: Near Hotel Tamu, under Janta Ghar. Grains, dryfruits, masala, tea, sugar and puja material sold." Yes.

School's In

Within days of the tragedy, many NGOs realised re-starting school is the best medicine for children. Amazingly, the Government ordered closure of all schools in the region for a year. Everyone else ignored it. While these children attend camp school in Bhachau, other schools have cropped up across Kutch. Organisations like Viraayatan, a Bihar-based Jain religious organisation, runs six makeshift schools with 8,000 primary grade students by hiring teachers at a salary of Rs 1,000 a month.

It's in the curious nature of reconstruction that people hate to leave. It took the Gujarat Government two months to figure it out before abandoning its relocation policy. At one stage, chief minister Keshubhai Patel harped on this theme. And Industries Minister Suresh Mehta even suggested that earthquake victims be resettled in Chandigarh-style townships. But officials allege there could be a murkier reason behind delays in clearing rubble, junking relocation and delaying a Rs 1,279-crore rehabilitation package for Bhuj, Bhachau, Anjar and Rapar, the most battered towns: some legislators wanted to ensure the future value of their real-estate investments, both direct and benami.

Law And Order

Tragedy and adversity breeds ingenuity. With police stations obliterated, local law, like these policemen in Anjar, simply moved into an empty container. But work is tough. With public resentment over rehabilitation running high, junior bureaucrats and taluka development officers have been roughed up. "Public grievances are not met as per their expectations and they are getting aggressive," says Kutch deputy superintendent of police Vivek Srivastava. His deputy Himanshu Bhatt cautions about another danger: a flare-up of violence as certain castes and communities move to create ghettoes in adversity. "We already see caste-based scuffles which is not a healthy sign in the long run."

MetroScape

Focusing On Art
The brief for participants at
"Exhibit 'A' 2001" organised by the
200-member
Photographers'
Guild of India at the Nehru Centre, Mumbai, was clear—no advertisement and portfolio photos. more...

Looking Glass

Delhi Poster:
One Page Classics

Calcutta Pub:
London Pub

Bangalore & Mumbai Rock Concert:
Bryan Adams

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya reflected optimism about winning the state election when he spoke to INDIA TODAY Senior Editor Sumit Mitra at the CPI(M) headquarters in Kolkata, minutes before rushing off for campaigning.
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