NEW DELHI, Dec 29: India has turned down foreign aid as it has "adequate resources" to provide relief to tsunami victims, a government official said on Wednesday.
India has been flooded with "generous offers of aid" from countries like Russia, the United States, Israel and Japan, said the official who did not want to be named.
"In fact, all friendly nations have offered help but we feel we do have the resources to handle the situation. If at a later stage we feel we need assistance we will not hesitate to ask," said the source.
"Right now we not only have adequate resources but have gone out and mounted a huge relief effort for Sri Lanka and Maldives. We could not have done this if we were facing a problem in Indian relief operations."
The Indian government says it has sent warships, helicopters and aircraft to distribute food, medicines and blankets to neighbouring Sri Lanka and the Maldives and has promised over 23 million dollars in monetary aid.
The official noted that India had not taken up the offers of help as Sunday's disaster was not of "the magnitude" of a brutal earthquake that struck the western Indian state of Gujarat in January 2001 killing 20,000 people.
"This disaster is just not of the same scale or magnitude of the Gujarat earthquake. In comparison to the Gujarat earthquake we have the resources to handle the situation at this juncture," he said.
The death toll in India from giant tidal waves that crashed into the coasts of Asia crossed 9,000 on Wednesday with many thousands of people still missing, particularly on remote islands which remain incommunicado.
The government has taken a cautious stance and Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Tuesday night the death toll as officially confirmed to the federal government in New Delhi was 4,857.
India's government and UN and local aid agencies have begun distributing survival packs to at least 160,000 people left homeless along the mainland coast with demand expected to grow for food, water and shelter.
In addition to the five billion rupees (114 million dollars) provided for relief work Monday by the Indian government, another two billion rupees (46 million dollars) has been earmarked to rebuild rural housing. -AFP
