INDIA: Communists join earthquake relief

Issue 

BY EVA CHENG

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) has taken an extraordinary series of measures to contribute to the efforts to relieve the devastating impact of the January 26 earthquake in Gujarat, in India's north west.

The earthquake has caused the deaths of an estimated 100,000 people, with at least twice that number injured. Numerous others have been left in extreme material hardship and deep psychological trauma.

"The CPI (ML) has called upon all its members and supporters to rise to the occasion. All Party units have been directed to collect and dispatch relief materials, especially money and medicine, on a war-footing for the next one week suspending all other normal activities", said the party in a January 28 statement.

The parliamentary representatives of the party and its ally, the Autonomous State Demands Committee (ASDC), in the north-eastern state of Assam have decided to donate one million rupees each from their local area development scheme funds to the Red Cross relief fund for Gujarat.

All legislative representatives of the party in Bihar, Jharkhand and their ASDC counterparts in Assam as well as members of the ASDC-run autonomous councils in Karbi Anglong and NC Hill districts of Assam will also donate a month's salary each. In addition, the two autonomous councils will contribute 100,000 rupees each to the relief effort.

The CPI (ML) is sending a central relief team along with activists from its affiliated student organisation, the All-India Students' Association, to undertake relief operations in cooperation with the party's local unit in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

In a statement issued on January 28, the CPI (ML) said, "The tragedy of such mind-boggling dimension calls for an overwhelming national response in terms of mobilisation of material resources and organisation of relief operation".

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