US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI8810

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 008810 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
 
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA ROBERT THAYER 
ANE BUREAU FOR ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR JIM KUNDER, DEPUTY 
ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR MARK WARD, INDIA DESK OFFICER, 
EBONY BOSTIC, SUPERVISORY PROGRAM OFFICER, REBECCA COHN 
BANGKOK FOR OFDA SENIOR REGIONAL ADVISOR TOM DOLAN 
KATHMANDU FOR OFDA REGIONAL ADVISOR WILLIAM BERGER 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: Kashmir, Earthquake 
SUBJECT: JAMMU AND KASHMIR EARTHQUAKE  MONITORING VISIT 
 
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Summary 
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1.  A Regional Advisor from USAID's Office of Foreign 
Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and a representative from 
USAID/Delhi conducted a post-earthquake visit to Srinagar 
in Jammu & Kashmir from 15-16 November in order to monitor 
program progress of USAID/OFDA-funded partners.  Due to 
security concerns, the USAID team shortened its visit and 
requested partner meetings to be held at the 
Intercontinental Hotel. 
 
2.  The initial relief phase, focused on the distribution 
of tents, winter clothing, blankets and family survival 
kits, is nearly finished.  Partners with longer-term 
programming are now in the second stage of relief 
operations.  This phase entails the construction of 
transitional shelter, technical assistance and provision of 
tools, health services, school supplies and psychological- 
social care.  Access to affected villages remains a major 
challenge due to poor weather, dangerous road conditions 
and check point delays under heightened security concerns. 
Despite this, national and local authorities continue to 
support relief efforts, primarily through the assistance of 
the Indian military. USAID/OFDA has provided $604,216 to 
meet the above emergency needs in Jammu & Kashmir. 
 
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Relief Operations Continue Despite Deteriorating Security 
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3.  The overall security situation has worsened in recent 
weeks, with increased incidents of shootings, explosions 
and grenade attacks. As such the USAID team took special 
precautions on the advice of the Regional Security Officer 
in New Delhi to travel with an armed escort and limit 
movement to the extent possible within Srinagar. 
Furthermore the team cut short its visit in light of 
increased violence upon their arrival.  In an effort to 
ensure the ongoing safety of USAID partners, the team opted 
not to conduct any site visits that might jeopardize their 
neutrality since visits would require armed escorts. 
Restricted movements due to security concerns at the 
opening of relief access points along the Line of Control 
(LoC) also prevented a planned site visit. 
 
4.  The increase in violence has had implications on the 
provision of relief, though not to a significant degree. 
Partners reported longer delays at check points to and from 
earthquake-affected communities with the military keeping 
more detailed track of all movement in Jammu & Kashmir. 
These delays are partially due to the opening of relief 
distribution points along the LoC, which have led to 
temporary road closures. 
 
5.  Partners have not reported any direct threats to their 
safety under these circumstances, nor a desire to terminate 
program activities.  It should be noted that two of the 
four NGOs funded by USAID/OFDA, CARE and World Vision (WV), 
have nearly completed their activities and are in the 
process of closing operations. These partners were 
newcomers to the region. The remaining NGOs, Save the 
Children (SCF) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), have had 
longstanding presence in the region and plan to continue 
their work while exercising more caution. Both partners 
emphasized that the safety of their staff is in the 
forefront of all plans to deliver relief and that they are 
relying heavily on well-established Kashmiri and Indian 
military relationships and distribution linkages. 
 
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Reporting on USG Assistance 
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6.  There appears to be a pervasive sense among the relief 
community that the safety of their staff and effectiveness 
of relief operations are contingent upon maintaining a low 
profile in the region.  Discussions therefore with the 
media have been at the discretion of the NGOs, some of 
which have released broad press statements from their 
respective headquarters but have not referenced funding 
sources.  Post is looking at ways to highlight USG 
assistance in J&K without jeopardizing relief operations. 
 
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USAID/OFDA Relief Provided to Date 
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7.  Catholic Relief Services has run a commendable relief 
program in partnership with the Consortium of Volunteer 
Agencies (COVA), a local organization consisting of many 
Muslim partners, and its traditional counterparts, CARITAS 
and Catholic Social Service Society (CSSS). To date CRS has 
provided relief to 2,380 families in 16 villages within 
Baramulla District.  Furthermore through CSSS, mobile 
health teams have assisted more than 6,000 individuals. 
USG-supported relief through CRS includes health services, 
transitional shelter (including a cash-for-work component), 
school supplies and psychological-social care.  A total of 
4,000 families will be served by March 31, 2005 with 
$170,000 from USAID/OFDA. Furthermore CRS is poised to help 
approximately 500 families beyond the LoC should an 
agreement be reached which enables them to provide cross 
border assistance. 
 
8.  Save the Children Fund has nearly completed its first 
phase of disaster relief in Uri of Baramulla District and 
Tangdhar of Kupwara Districts.  Efforts have been made to 
first address emergency needs in the more inaccessible 
areas of Tangdhar.  As of November 14, nearly all targets 
have been reached in this area, including the distribution 
of tents, plastic sheets, blankets, phirans (traditional 
jackets for adults and children) and kangrees (local wicker 
and clay heating pots).  School supplies have also been 
dispatched to meet the needs of children and teachers.  SCF 
is now concentrating on Uri to complete the provision of 
similar commodities. USAID/OFDA contributed $134,278 toward 
SCF's relief efforts. 
 
9.  World Vision identified 500 families in need of tin 
sheeting in Tangdhar of Kupwara District. All beneficiaries 
will be reached by Friday, November 18th.   These 
commodities are in higher demand now as communities are 
asking for materials that can be used for longer-term 
shelter.  WV ran into some difficulties due to poor weather 
and dangerous road conditions in Tangdhar, however they are 
now in the process of program close-out.  WV operated its 
program with a $100,000 contribution from USAID/OFDA. 
 
10.  CARE reached 7,500 families as of November 14th.  As a 
new partner in the region, CARE chose early on to work very 
closely with the Indian military; therefore it was able to 
move commodities quickly to targeted communities.  Also 
CARE staff were present at distributions to ensure 
appropriate targeting.  Blankets, tents, kangrees, phirans, 
and floor mats were delivered.  CARE received $100,000 from 
USAID/OFDA to help meet these emergency needs. 
 
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Government of India and other Relief Efforts 
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11.  Indian military continue to play a major role in 
national and local government relief efforts, carefully 
tracking disaster relief activities to date. Per NGO 
sources, on November 6, the Army (56 RR) and Civil 
Administration, represented by the Divisional Commissioner, 
assigned villages to NGOs in order to facilitate relief 
efforts, prevent duplication and address gaps in 
assistance. The Divisional Commissioner is also working 
with UNDP to coordinate relief efforts. NGOs encountered by 
the team appeared to be very grateful for the Indian 
military's assistance, though there are some concerns on 
the part of NGOs about the military being so closely 
involved in the identification and selection of villages 
for relief, and there are concerns over what information is 
made available to the humanitarian community.  Tracking and 
coordinating NGO activities, for example, has been 
challenging for partners, especially in the absence of 
maps. 
 
12.  Apart from the provision of tents and blankets, NGOs 
reported the primary focus of government officials is now 
compensation for damaged homes.  Initially a policy was 
established to provide 100,000 rupees to affected families 
for the reconstruction of their homes.  An additional 
31,000 rupees are being distributed to meet temporary 
shelter needs, 25,000 of which is provided through a 
voucher system.  Recipients are then able to exchange these 
vouchers for commodities at government-supported material 
depots. The Indian Government has also trained and placed 
131 engineers in Tangdhar division to assist with 
reconstruction. 
 
13.  Beyond CARE, CRS, SCF and WV, there are few 
international NGOs present in Jammu & Kashmir.  Action Aid, 
OXFAM, RedR, Medecins San Frontiers are the other key 
international organizations, alongside a host of national 
NGOs, UNICEF and UNDP. The focus remains on shelter needs, 
however programming is simultaneously being done in various 
other sectors, such as health, nutrition, education, 
psychological-social care, water and sanitation.  USAID, 
ECHO and CIDA are supporting these humanitarian efforts in 
Jammu & Kashmir. 
 
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Conclusion 
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14.  Together USAID/OFDA's Regional Advisor and USAID/Delhi 
are closely monitoring the security situation and related 
risks to relief staff and distributions.  Partners have 
been advised to report on any security situation that 
merits USAID attention, and they continue to provide 
regular feedback pertaining to relief operations.  The 
current funding level of $604,216 will stand for the post- 
earthquake emergency phase.  Activities under this 
emergency phase are expected to be completed by end March 
2006. 
 
BLAKE