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155 more bodies recovered in Gujarat

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Friday said its volunteers extricated 155 more bodies from the cyclone-affected areas of Gujarat.

The official death toll at 0700 hours this morning stood at 706. With the RSS's finding of 155 more bodies, the toll in Tuesday's cyclone-related incidents appear to have crossed 950.

Though very little information is trickling in officially, the RSS's Vishwa Samvad Kendra in Ahmedabad said a team of 43 volunteers was busy extricating bodies from the Arabian Sea. The RSS has also despatched a medical team to the affected areas.

Meanwhile, a United News of India report said 2,000 migrant salt workers, who survived the cyclone in Kutch, arrived at Ahmedabad station.

In Kandla, Jamnagar and Navlakhi towns, a severe shortage of food, drinking water and other essential commodities was being felt.

A report from Jamnagar said the rescue and relief operations were yet to gather momentum. The authorities recovered 78 bodies in the day, taking the toll there to 137 against last night's report of 59. Unconfirmed reports, however, put the toll at 170.

A report from Rajkot said even after 72 hours, utter confusion prevailed about the death toll and property losses in the Saurashtra region. While officials put the figure at less than one thousand, local dailies claimed it was more than two thousand.

The Union government has rushed an emergency power restoration unit to Gujarat. Home Minister L K Advani said a central team would visit the state in the next three days to assess the damage.

He admitted in the Rajya Sabha that the magnitude of the tragedy would not have been so much but for some initial confusion and lack of coordination between the Port Trust authorities and the district administration.

Advani said the Indian Railways has been asked to make all arrangements for the return of cyclone victims to their native places, free of cost.

UNI

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