In the early hours on October 8th 2005 thousands of people in regions in Pakistan and India awoke to the horror of the massive earthquake that struck without a warning. Muzaffarabad in Pakistan and Kupwara and Budgam districts in India on the Indo-Pakistan border were severely affected. As news of the earthquake, transmitted through Pakistan airwaves first reached people, the extent of the damage and destruction and equally important became apparent on a wide scale.

A LAND DEVASTATED...

While the facts and figures were pouring in, it was evident that relief operations at some level had begun with the Indian Army posted in the rocky terrain being quick to reach the affected people. However, it was also clear that Relief operations would be hampered by the terrain, weather conditions and the damage caused to roads and overall movement. According to the initial reports, the major casualties were cattle but the immediate task was to search and save people who had been struck and injured by the disaster. The government machinery had started moving but the overriding question was whether it could reach remote or inaccessible a areas in time.

Charkha responded to this situation in a quick and spontaneous way. The sole objective was to organize some relief to reach people who need it for survival. This sentiment was echoed by Charkha’s Kashmir coordinator, Hamraz . The Charkha Kashmir Relief Programme was borne out of this shared sentiment and the desire to take action. This coordination between Hamraz and Charkha became the basis of the entire operation in the upper regions of Kashmir. While Charkha office in Delhi sent out an Appeal to a wide circle of friends and

The human face of the devastation...

supporters, Hamraz and his team of five people, moving more on instinct than by plan, set off to the affected sites to assess the situation.