Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05NEWDELHI103
2005-01-05 13:06:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy New Delhi
Cable title:  

INDIA TSUNAMI SITREP: JANUARY 5

Tags:  PREL CASC AEMR EAID MASS SOCI EAGR ID CE MV 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000103 

SIPDIS

USDA/FAS/FAA/CALEXANDER/MCONLON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2015
TAGS: PREL CASC AEMR EAID MASS SOCI EAGR ID CE MV
SUBJECT: INDIA TSUNAMI SITREP: JANUARY 5

REF: NEW DELHI 8233

Classified By: PolCouns Geoff Pyatt. Reasons 1.4 (B,D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000103

SIPDIS

USDA/FAS/FAA/CALEXANDER/MCONLON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2015
TAGS: PREL CASC AEMR EAID MASS SOCI EAGR ID CE MV
SUBJECT: INDIA TSUNAMI SITREP: JANUARY 5

REF: NEW DELHI 8233

Classified By: PolCouns Geoff Pyatt. Reasons 1.4 (B,D).


1. (SBU) Summary: Consular officers in India, through
nightly call-backs in response to tsunami-related missing
persons inquires, have closed more than 350 cases in the last
48 hours and expect to bring the number below 200 by January

6. Following the Ambassador's January 4 press conference,
reports misquoted SciCouns as having said that formal
proposals for US-India collaboration are on the table.
Although observers in New Delhi have been enthusiastic about
Indian assistance for Sri Lanka, at least one prominent
politician has expressed concern over aid making its way to
the LTTE. The military announced that relief operations are
"98 percent complete" in Andaman and Nicobar, but the number
of Indian deaths continues to increase. End Summary.

Consular: India-Wide Effort to Locate Americans
-------------- --


2. (U) All consular officers across India have been engaged
in a nightly, after-hours effort to re-contact persons in the
US who have inquired about loved ones, making every effort to
locate the missing. As a result of this country-wide
approach, consular India has closed more than 350 cases in
the last 48 hours, and hopes to have the list of open cases
down to less than 200 by Thursday morning, at which point New
Delhi will transfer responsibility for all open cases back to
ConGen Chennai. Reconsolidating responsibility should help
focus consular's efforts and avoid potentially dropped-balls
as officers work to account for the remaining missing. All
New Delhi consular officers lent to other posts in the region
(including one who was vacationing in Phuket and stepped in
to provide ACS support) are expected back on the visa line by
Monday, January 10.

Tsunami Science

SIPDIS
--------------


3. (U) At the Ambassador's January 4 briefing, the press

demonstrated considerable interest in tsunami alert/warning
systems and US collaboration with India to develop sea level
monitoring systems (reftel). The "Times of India" misquoted
SciCouns stating that "we had a proposal from India to set up
a network of tidal ocean level gauges in the Bay of Bengal,"
but in fact we have not yet received any formal Indian
proposals for cooperation in this area. On January 6, the
Mission expects to learn more about the team of experts that
Department of Science and Technology Secretary VS Ramamurthy
plans to call together to advise the GOI on monitoring
systems.

Watching Where the Aid Goes in Sri Lanka
--------------


4. (U) While GOI disaster relief for Sri Lanka has been a
source of pride for Indians, Janata Party president
Subramanian Swamy has expressed concern over which parts of
the country New Delhi's assistance reaches. On December 30,
Swamy reportedly requested the GOI to ensure that its aid
does not make its way to the LTTE or the Tamil Rehabilitation
Organization (TRO),which he considers an LTTE front. He
also urged the US to look into the role of the TRO in the
United States as a conduit for aid to the LTTE.

Death Toll in India Climbing
--------------


5. (U) The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) reported that
through January 4, 9,575 Indians had died as a result of the
tsunami, an increase of nearly 100 from the previous day.

SIPDIS
The MHA also revised the number of missing to 5,918 (from
5,681 on January 3),of which 5,801 are from the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.

Andaman and Nicobar: "98% Done"
--------------


6. (U) Despite the number of individuals still missing, Vice
Admiral Raman Puri, Chief of the Integrated Defense Staff
(IDS),was quoted in local press reports as having announced
that 98 percent of immediate relief work in the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands had been completed. The GOI noted that
search and rescue and relief operations are coming to an end
and the next phase of recovery and reconstruction operations
are underway. International NGOs are still prohibited from
operating in the Nicobar Islands, which are militarily
sensitive.

The Neighbors Pitch in For India
--------------


7. (C) On January 4 media reports indicated that Indian
helicopters, which cannot fly from the eastern part of the
country to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands alone, have flown
via Burma. The GOI confirmed this to DAO, noting that eight
MI-17 helicopters stopped for refueling in Rangoon before
proceeding to the Islands. India has also reportedly
received similar support from Bangladesh for helicopter
operations from Bangladesh.

Only the Beginning in Indonesia
--------------


8. (C) India's relief for Indonesia, Operation Gambhir, is
just getting underway, according to the Ministry of Defense.
Two Indian Navy vessels, a survey ship, the INS Nirupak,
which the GOI converted to a hospital, and the INS Khukri,
which left from Chennai on December 31 carrying tents,
blankets, emergency rations, and emergency medical supplies,
have reached or will soon arrive in Aceh, the MEA reported.
Defense officials told DAO that Indian assistance for
Indonesia will be expanded.
MULFORD