JAMMU AND KASHMIR EARTHQUAKE MONITORING VISIT

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:
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