I came to Gujarat today to express my sympathy and solidarity with my sisters and brothers here in the wake of the devastating earthquake that rocked many parts of the State on January 26. This is one of the worst natural calamities in India and the world. The entire nation shares the grief of the people of Gujarat in this hour of suffering, shock, and loss on a catastrophic scale.

Today I visited Bhuj and did an aerial survey of some of the areas worst affected by the earthquake. I also visited some parts of Ahmedabad that bore the brunt of the quake. I have never seen a natural disaster of such fury.

Mother Nature’s ways are inscrutable. But it is up to man to overcome the stiffest of challenges with determination and a collective spirit. I have come to echo the sentiment of all the one billion plus Indians that we shall overcome the stupendous challenge of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction in Gujarat, just as we have collectively triumphed against countless odds in the past.

I have constituted an Empowered Group of Ministers to constantly monitor the situation in Gujarat and take speedy steps for proper mobilisation and coordination of relief and rehabilitation activities. The Group will be headed by the Home Minister, Shri L. K. Advani, and include the Ministers of Defence, Finance, Food, Health, Urban Development and Housing, Agriculture, Textile, Telecom, Power and the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission. This would be in addition to the Crisis Management Group under the Cabinet Secretary, which has been meeting on daily basis.

I have asked the Government of Gujarat to set up a separate Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Fund, which mobilise contributions and donations from India and abroad.

I wish to assure the people of Gujarat that neither funds nor any other kind of assistance will be a constraint in accomplishing speediest possible rehabilitation and reconstruction in the State.

The people of Kutch and other parts of the Gujarat are renowned for their industriousness. They are also known for their qualities of mutual help in time of adversity. I am confident that the large community of Gujaratis living in other States of India, as also those who are living in different parts of the world, will launch many philanthropic initiatives.

It is heartening that countless voluntary organisations have activated relief and rehabilitation efforts in the State. Many international aid organisations have also rushed relief materials and medical personnel to Gujarat. I thank all of them for their humanitarian gesture. It will our endeavour to effect prefect coordination among all the activities of the Central Government, Gujarat Government, NGOs and ordinary citizens, so that available human, financial and material resources are used in the most effective manner.