In the aftermath of a massive and tragic event like the Gujarat earthquake, it's obvious that emotions will run high, traumatised people will look for scapegoats. Nonetheless, the article by Shyam Parekh of Gemini, (#29, Covering the quake) himself a survivor of the quake, make some extreme generalisations. His allegation, printed by you in a provocative sub headline, that the media ignored the plight of stricken villagers and thus was responsible for thousands of deaths, is outrageous and false.

As one of those reporters on the scene, I went to dozens of villages, many well off the highway. Colleagues with the BBC, CNN, American and British newspapers and countless Indian television and press outlets roamed far and wide over the vast district of Kutch, all within a few days the earthquake. It is simply untrue to say that the media "concentrated on Bhuj" and ignored Anjar, Rapar, Bhachau and the countless other places smashed in the earthquake. My own colleague at the BBC, Mike Wooldridge, went to Bhachau on 27 January and reported back that evening-the first international reporter to reach the epicentre. I am not saying that the media did a flawless job of covering the earthquake; it did not. There were problems. But I strenuously object to the casual assertion that somehow we were to blame for the plight of the hapless people of Kutch.

Daniel Lak
Kupondole Heights