Faced with the mammoth task of post-tsunami reconstruction, India on Friday indicated that it would be willing to accept foreign funding for the purpose. New Delhi had raised eyebrows ? and hackles ? by ref-using aid immediately after the December 26 tsunami because it had the resources to deal with the destruction and wanted foreign relief to be directed to countries in greater need.

?We are proud to bear this burden (of relief),? Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in Mumbai. But ?longer-term reconstruction and rehabilitation, which will also involve investments in upgrading the infrastructure in the affected areas... requires greater investment and project-based funding,? he said.

For this, ?India will be accessing international financing incl-uding from multi-lateral financing agencies,? he said. ?This (relief) is the first stage and rehabilitation is the second stage.? Also on Friday, the number of dead in the tsunami crossed 10,001 while 5,689 people were missing, presumed dead. Apart from the AP toll of 105, 86 people from Srikakulam are believed to have died in the Andamans archipelago.

Disease Strikes
Cases of measles, chicken pox and diarrhoea were been reported from some tsunami-hit areas, Union Health Secretary P K Hota said in New Delhi. Though the numbers were small, the government is moving into prevent it from flaring up, he said. As of now, 28 cases of measles were detected, including 15 in Tamil Nadu and the rest in the Andamans.

?Such cases could have been detected during normal times but we are taking no chances. We are carrying out vaccination,? he said. ?We are on high alert and we are clear that this is not the time to be complacent.?

Increasing Toll
Among India?s dead, Tamil Nadu accounted for the highest toll of 7,941 lives, followed by Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1,196), Pondicherry (583), Kerala (170) and Andhra Pradesh (105). Of the Tamil Nadu toll, 6,035 lives were lost in Nagapattinam.

As many as 642,297 people from the coastal areas in the affected States were shifted to safer places. In all, 382,586 people are still in 630 relief camps. As relief measures gathered pace, 80 per cent pipeline water supply had been restored in port Blair, besides locating two fresh water sources in Little Andaman. Eleven civil medical teams have been deployed at Port Blair, the Director-Generals of Health Services and Indian Council for Medical Research are camping there.

Elsewhere, Thailand?s confirmed death toll is more than 5,200, including 2,510 foreign holidaymakers, but the number of people listed as missing has shrunk by nearly 150. Sri Lanka has lost more than 31,000 people. But, in a move that shows the kind of confusion that prevails in Indonesia, Jakarta upped the toll to over 113,000. Hours later, it hastily cut back the numbers to about 101,000. On Friday, 4,289 bodies were recovered in Indonesia?s worst-hit Aceh province.

In Mumbai, Chidambaram denied suggestions India was taking an ?isolationist stand? in refusing help from the international community for tsunami relief were false. ?India is large enough a country to meet the immediate needs of humanitarian assistance and relief in wake of the disaster. In fact, the country is in a position to provide such assistance to worse affected neighbours,? he said.