Authorities air-dropped burial shrouds and food Monday to remote villages hit by the weekend's devastating earthquake, as the death toll climbed to 804 in Indian Kashmir. But three days after the magnitude-7.6 temblor struck the Himalayan region, little help had reached outlying communities where villagers complained that food and water supplies were gone and some of them organized their own expeditions for supplies. In areas of Indian-controlled Kashmir where houses remained standing, many residents spent the night in the open after warnings of a further earthquake were announced over loudspeakers at mosques. No major quake was reported Sunday night, despite dozens of aftershocks that followed Saturday's quake. An additional 100 bodies were recovered in remote villages reached by relief workers Monday, bringing the civilian death toll to 750, said Vijay Bakaya, the top official of the state. The Indian army said 54 of its soldiers also perished. More than 2,400 people were injured by collapsing homes and landslides in the earthquake, Bakaya told reporters in Srinagar, the state's summer capital. He said authorities have delivered 210 metric tons (231 US tons) of rice, 70 tons (77 US tons) of flour and 1 ton (1.10 US tons) of sugar. Part of it was air dropped by military aircraft over remote villages. He said the worst-hit areas will get free rations for one month. In addition, 2,250 meters (7,381 feet) of shrouds _ pieces of unstitched cloth required by Islam for burial _ also have been air-dropped, he said. Some 5,000 tents have been provided, far short of the 15,000 needed, he said. The remaining were being dispatched from other states, said Bakaya, adding that nearly 4,600 homes were destroyed in the worst hit areas of Tangdar, Uri, Punch and Srinagar. Some residents were forced to organize their own relief efforts, according to a report of the Associated Press.
