Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Indian disaster force lends a hand in Japan


Members of the National Disaster Response Force from India search through the rubble for missing people in the town of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, on April 2, 2011. It is the first time India's NDRF, whose 46-member rescue team arrived in Japan on March 28, is engaged in an overseas mission. (Kyodo) Source: Kyodo News
The team starts from its camp in Sendai at seven in the morning, reaches Onagawa town about two hours later, works from 9 to 12, then takes a one-hour lunch break and works again till four in the afternoon before returning to their camp.
Apart from bodies, the Indian team has fished out a large amount of currency notes — between 25 and 30 lakh yen — and jewellery, which it has handed over to the local authorities.
Avasthy said what has been most satisfying is the appreciation of the local people and the authorities. Local media has gratefully acknowledged their role and the Indian team has already featured in two of the biggest newspapers in Japan — Daily Yomiuri and Japan Times.
In view of their good work, the Japanese government has now requested that the tenure of the NDRF team — only 10 days — be extended by at least another 10 days. India has readily agreed.

Read the full article: Indian disaster force lends a hand in Japan

Anything I start to write on this news sounds unbearably sappy so I'm just going to leave it at that.  I hope my readers understand this moment of silence is my comment.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for highlighting the good work!

Pundit, I have a request - Could you please opt for Disqus? This will help you get a lot of regular following for the blog. (and make it easy for us to comment... :-) )

Thanks and Regards,
Brown Fox

Heidi3 said...

Great story, and a true testament to the generous hearts and souls of the Indian people. I'm glad to hear that the Japanese government has acknowledged that, by requesting an extension of the NDRF services. Without having read your post, I would never have known of India's contribution to this immense and heartbreaking project. Thank you.

PunditCommentator said...

Thank you for stopping by, Heidi3! For far too long, India hasn't worked enough to bridge the perception gap with the rest of the world. Through this blog, I'm glad to do what I can to present my perspective on important and interesting stories from or about India.

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