Source: Times News Network
BHUJ, GUJARAT, January 24, 2002: Soon after the killer quake on January 26 last year, as talk of rehabilitation of Kutch began, non-government organizations (NGOs) started to be mentioned as the “prime movers” for this purpose. But a year later, the NGO experiment in rebuilding Kutch has been, at best, a mixed success. Though 64 NGOs, including a number of religious organization, are working in Kutch (76 in the entire state), a large number of them have abandoned their plans and have gone away. “To start with, they did not realize that rehabilitation is a complex process and involves more than just constructing houses,” says Maheswar Sahu, chief executive officer of Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA). “After initial surveys, they realized that they did not have the requisite experience.” Also funding was growing scarce, another factor in the rebuilding of Kutch.