Over 23,000 people are feared dead in India, as central government relief efforts come under heavy criticism. Rajeshree Sisodia reports from New Delhi In Hindu mythology, Kali Yug is the apocalyptic age of darkness which sparks the annihilation of mankind. On 26 December, it seemed to many that Kali Yug had indeed descended on India -- the birthplace of Hinduism -- when an earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra caused tidal waves to ravage shorelines across the south and east of the sub-continent, killing thousands and leaving many more homeless. The earthquake, which measured nine on the Richter scale and happened around 25 miles beneath the bed of the Indian Ocean, was the largest in the world for 40 years. It created tidal waves or tsunamis which travelled at speeds up to 300mph, decimating homes and lives in the south-east Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the south-west state of Kerala -- more than 1,000 miles west of the earthquake's epicentre -- as well as in the Indian-administered Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The tsunamis also vented their fury along the coastlines of Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Indonesia, and the Maldives, killing thousands more, with Indonesia bearing the heaviest casualties. Their impact was even felt 3,000 miles away on the other side of the Indian Ocean, in Somalia and Kenya. The death toll to date throughout the region is around 155,000 according to official estimates, with 23,000 feared to be dead in India alone. But aid workers and the Indian government acknowledge that this figure may be just the tip of the iceberg, and are openly saying that many thousands may never be found, while of the bodies retrieved, many may never be identified Meanwhile, fears grow that the death toll will spiral as disease becomes rife. The Indian government has masterminded the relief operation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and has helped the state government of Tamil Nadu in its relief efforts. Initial financial commitments by the government include pledging 250 crore Indian rupees ($57 million) -- one crore is the equivalent of 10 million rupees -- for Tamil Nadu, 106 crore rupees ($24 million) for Kerala and 100 crore rupees ($23 million) relief for Andhra Pradesh state. Yet despite this, the state still had to face down a barrage of criticism both at home and abroad for its handling of what the United Nations has called the world's biggest disaster. Experts from the US Geological Survey last week said that many of the dead could have been saved if a tsunami warning system or tide gauges like those which warn countries around the Pacific Ocean had been in place in India -- a nation which international charity Christian Aid has described as one of the most vulnerable to natural disasters in the world. But politicians in New Delhi said it would have been impossible to predict the tsunami given the technology available to the country, adding that the government would now install a "deep ocean assessment and reporting system" so that natural disasters could be predicted in future. "It is not necessary that tsunamis will be there in the event of an earthquake," Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said, adding that though the Indian government knew the earthquake had hit Sumatra at around 6.30am on 26 December, the authorities could not have foreseen the huge waves that were to hit the Indian coast some two-and-a-half hours later. "In history there have been many earthquakes which have not caused any tsunamis," Sibal insisted. His views were partly echoed by relief workers on the ground. Belinda Bennet, Christian Aid humanitarian and aid effort co-ordinator in Tamil Nadu, said, "In people's living memory there has been no experience of this kind of thing, so the government was not prepared." Bennet added, "In terms of Tamil Nadu, because the non-governmental organisations are very well organised, the people's response was fantastic... Because of the nature and the extent of the calamity, maybe it would have taken anybody in the world by surprise." Bijoy Patro, spokesman for the International Federation of the Red Cross South Asia Regional Delegation in New Delhi, said the Indian government had been more prepared for natural disasters over the past several years because of the frequency with which tragedies including cyclones and earthquakes had ravaged the country. "The need is to keep advocating for disaster management policies by the governments," he added. "The Indian government has a disaster management policy which is quite adequate... The Indian government over the last few years has handled so many disasters." Dhritimam Chaterji, an actor who lives in the fishing village of Injammbakkam around 20 kilometres south of the Tamil Nadu state capital of Chennai, was outside his beach-house, around 600 metres from the coast, when the tsunami struck. "Things have settled down," Chaterji said, "but there's a great deal of concern. Most of the loss of life is poorer people in fishing communities.... Other than the loss of life, there's been a great deal of displacement. "I think the authorities have been well prepared. It [the tidal wave] caught everyone by surprise, as such events had not been known in this region." The central Indian government -- which has stationed four Indian Navy ships in Sri Lanka to help bring relief supplies to its neighbour -- also came under fire on Saturday 1 January from survivors on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where as many as 15,000 are feared dead, and aftershocks were felt as recently as last weekend (1 and 2 January). Islanders criticised the government for the slow pace of its relief effort. Officials on the islands downplayed the unrest, which was triggered after around 4,500 islanders were evacuated from their homes to Campbell Bay on the island of Great Nicobar, a move which increased the bay's local population by one-third and caused chaos. The unrest comes after Indian central government announced on Saturday a raft of relief and rehabilitation measures for the communities in the Andaman and Nicobar islands during a series of talks headed by Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. New Delhi has so far mobilised almost 1,000 tonnes of aid for the islands, of which 295 tonnes has been delivered with help from the Indian Navy. On Saturday, the government announced the formation of a new committee specifically designed to co-ordinate armed forces, civil and naval relief efforts on the Indian-administered territory. Relief measures taken in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, were also placed under the microscope at last Saturday's talks. A team of government officials was due to arrive Tuesday in Tamil Nadu, where the death toll is estimated to be around 8,000, for a two-day visit to assess exactly what government aid is needed in both the immediate and the longer term to help the millions affected by the tragedy.
