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| Thursday, 06 January 2005 |
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by Bharatha Malawaraarachchi Despite the fact that the tsunami claimed thousands of lives, it also brought to the surface many human qualities. The story of Indian Navy's Surgeon Lieutenant Commander G. Parathasarthy was one of them. He was the first Indian doctor to arrive in Sri Lanka to serve the affected people while his own ancestral house in Chennai, Tamil Nadu was washed away by the same tidal waves which struck Sri Lanka. Surgeon Lieutenant Commander G. Parathasarthy based in Cochin received urgent orders to leave for Sri Lanka on December 26."Go and help" - that was the orders given to him and at the time he was preparing to go to the beach with his family. This kind of swift mobilisation is not strange to Parathasarthy whose family had served in the Indian Armed Forces for generations. "I came to the base and there was a little delay due to the flight clearance and shortly thereafter we flew to Sri Lanka which was by that time severely affected by the Tsunami waves. "Parathasarthy told a media briefing at the Taj Samudra Hotel. He is scheduled to return to India today. After arriving in Sri Lanka, Parathasarthy and his team were dispatched to Hambantota which was severely hit. Since then, he was involved in assisting the affected people. "We also helped to dispose the bodies in a hygienic manner." Parathasarthy said they in the Indian armed forces have been extensively trained to face these type of disasters. Parathasarthy says he was amazed by the hospitality and the generosity of Sri Lankans."Ever since I came here, I encountered humanity every where. All the people from administrative officials, Armed Forces and civilians extended much support to us." By the time Parathasarthy was helping Sri Lankan victims, his own grand mother was saved by some one else while his ancestral house was washed away by Tsunami waves. "I had the full faith in my Government that if I come here, there is someone to look after my family," Parathasarthy's father also had served in the army while his wife also a doctor had served the army. He has one daughter aged six. Indian High Commissioner Nirupama Rao said they were enormously impressed by the hospitality and compassion of Sri Lankans. Referring to an incident where a seven-year-old Indian boy was saved by a Sri Lankan couple holidaying in Yala, she said this couple had looked after this boy whose family had been killed by tidal waves, until his relatives arrived from India. "That was really touching." "Also Indian Navy personnel stationed in Galle had gone to the town to take telephone calls to their homes. The bus driver who took them had refused to take money while the operator at the telephone shop had refused to take money for these IDD calls." She said there is a spontaneous flow of aid from India to Sri Lanka. "India responded spontaneously to assist Sri Lanka on the very first day by sending Navy ships, helicopters, generators, medical teams, drugs etc." Mrs. Rao said she visited a number of affected areas and had discussion with the relief workers and civilians. Around 1000 Indian persons are involved in providing relief assistance. "Sri Lankan authorities are extending excellent cooperation. Sri Lankan and Indian personnel belonging to various fields and categories are working shoulder to shoulder." She said this incident had demonstrated the strength of the relationship between Sri Lanka and India especially at a time of disaster. "Our Prime Minister had pledged Rs 100 crore (US dollar 23 million) to Sri Lanka." She said India would extend assistance to reconstruction work in Sri Lanka after it announced its reconstruction plans. Responding to a question as to whether India would extend assistance to LTTE controlled areas, she stressed that the Government of India would only deal with the Government of Sri Lanka. "We will continue to deal with the Government of Sri Lanka and it is up to the Government to distribute the aid. Responding to a question, Mrs. Rao said there is a sustained coordination among the countries that are helping Sri Lanka. |
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