Turkey earthquake: Hyderabad gears up for help; first relief flight to take off on Feb 13

Hyderabad: Turkish Consulate in Hyderabad is busy collecting relief material to help its countrymen battling catastrophic earthquake. As the global community extends its helping hand to quake-hit Turkiye, the first batch of relief aid from the city will leave on February 13.

Turkish Consulate in Hyderabad has confirmed that it’s sending its first batch of relief aid early next week. The global community including the US, the UAE, and India among other nations has extended a helping hand to a nation mourning overnight devastation.

Consul General of Turkiye Orhan Yalman Okan said anyone willing to contribute may directly drop the items at the Turkish Consulate in Hyderabad. “Those must be unused and convenient to the winter conditions”, he added.

Owing to the weather conditions in Turkey, winter clothes including coats, jackets, winter shoes and boots, gloves, socks, and raincoats have been listed among the relief items needed for the people. New and unused Innerwear, sanitary and hygiene products, sanitary pads, baby diapers, and baby food are among the accepted relief supplies. This can help hundreds of families displaced by the quake.

Among other items, bed mattresses, portable mattresses for tents, sleeping bags, heaters, LPG-tank catalytic heaters, LPG cylinders, flasks, torches, power banks, and diesel generators can also be donated. Durable food items including canned food products are also accepted. A poster shared by the Society for Cyberabad Security Council invites people to share their washed and clean clothes, warmers, shoes, and other items. Heavy clothes including party wear, used undergarments, and dirty and torn items are prohibited.

The delivery of relief consignment will be facilitated by Turkish Cargo. The first batch will be picked up from the Consulate premises at Jubilee Hills Road No. 34 on Monday.

Outpour of grief:

Meanwhile, there is an outpour of grief in Hyderabad. Cordial relations between Hyderabad and Turkey date back centuries. From the first diplomatic exchange between the two nations in 1481 to the passing away of Eight Titular Nizam of Hyderabad Prince Mukarram Jah in Turkey, the city’s relationship with the country has matured with time

Delicious Kebabs, Rumi Topis, the love for its wildly popular TV series Ertugul and multiple restaurants in the city offering ‘authentic Turkish’ cuisines have only sweetened the relationship.

Hyderabad Connection:

Ottoman noble Princess Durrushehvar, daughter of the Last Caliph of Turkey Sultan Abdul Mejid, is the grandmother of Prince Azmet Jah, the ninth head of the Asif Jahi dynasty, and mother of the recently departed Prince Mukarram Jah, the Eighth Titular Nizam of Hyderabad. Princess Niloufer was the daughter-in-law of Hyderabad’s last Nizam Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan. Art, architecture, cuisine, and language among other things influence Turkish culture.

Video messages appealing to people to pray for the affected families were doing rounds on social media. Volunteers in Turkey appealed for prayers as the search for survivors is endangered by the freezing temperatures and multiple aftershocks while horrific visuals of destruction continue to surface online.

Natural or Man-made Disaster?

There are discussions in some social circles about whether the Turkey earthquake is a natural disaster or an artificially-induced crisis to thwart the country’s progress. Turkey celebrates a centenary in 2023, marking the end of the Lausanne agreement.

Twitterati was abuzz with videos of lightning and strange formations over Turkish skies moments before the quake hit. Many claimed that the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program” (HAARP) technology, originally designed for studying radio and space physics, was used for weather modification to cause the quake. The allegations are similar to the conspiracy theories concerning the 2010 quake in Haiti. This publication was not able to immediately verify the authenticity of these videos.