02-23-2006, 06:15 AM
India fire destroys quake relief
A fire at a railway warehouse in the Indian state of Punjab has destroyed millions of dollars of earthquake aid meant for Pakistan, officials say.
No one was injured in the blaze, which has now been brought under control.
The material stored in the warehouse was meant for distribution by Pakistan to victims of the 8 October earthquake.
Pakistan says more than 73,000 people died and millions were made homeless in the earthquake. Another 1,400 died in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The district commissioner of Amritsar, Kirandeep Bhullar, told the BBC that medicines, tarpaulins and about 10,000 truck and tractor tyres were stored in the warehouse when it caught fire.
It is not clear why the relief goods were still in storage so long after the disaster.
Railway officials say the fire was possibly caused by a short-circuit.
Relief
The relief material was to have been transported to Pakistan by train - the only rail link between the two countries runs through Punjab.
In November, India and Pakistan opened several points on the Line of Control which divides Kashmir to facilitate the exchange of relief material.
Hundreds of thousands of quake survivors are living in tent camps across Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two wars over it since independence.
A fire at a railway warehouse in the Indian state of Punjab has destroyed millions of dollars of earthquake aid meant for Pakistan, officials say.
No one was injured in the blaze, which has now been brought under control.
The material stored in the warehouse was meant for distribution by Pakistan to victims of the 8 October earthquake.
Pakistan says more than 73,000 people died and millions were made homeless in the earthquake. Another 1,400 died in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The district commissioner of Amritsar, Kirandeep Bhullar, told the BBC that medicines, tarpaulins and about 10,000 truck and tractor tyres were stored in the warehouse when it caught fire.
It is not clear why the relief goods were still in storage so long after the disaster.
Railway officials say the fire was possibly caused by a short-circuit.
Relief
The relief material was to have been transported to Pakistan by train - the only rail link between the two countries runs through Punjab.
In November, India and Pakistan opened several points on the Line of Control which divides Kashmir to facilitate the exchange of relief material.
Hundreds of thousands of quake survivors are living in tent camps across Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two wars over it since independence.