Colonel Tony Hawkins, the director of overseas relief and welfare of the Save the Children Fund, said yesterday that his organization did not accept suggestions that the dispatch of aid and medical supplies to the Bengal refugees should be delayed until present supplies in the affected areas are distributed.

He was referring to a message received by Oxfam from their operations officer in Calcutta. Brigadier Michael Blackman, that no further relief supplies should be sent until he ordered them. Oxfam said the message merely meant that further supplies should be held back until consignments already in Calcutta had been used up.

Colonel Hawkins said, "We are of the view that there is certainly still a need for trained doctors and highly skilled nurses. You must think in terms of about five million people. We are perfectly convinced that your trained team is more than needed.” --;

Later this week, a team of nine nurses and doctors from the fund will leave for Calcutta. All have had previous experience in refugee areas. Colonel Hawkins said, ”We have so far earmarked £50,000 to be spent but we expect it to cost very much more than that to meet all the needs”.

They had already dispatched 500,000 vaccine doses and five injector machines, capable of vaccinating 800 people an hour, and were planning to send more drugs and polythene sheeting to give shelter.

Oxfam announced that a proposal for the establishment of a computerized world disasters control room with full telecommunications facilities, based in Geneva, will be discussed by the International Council of Voluntary Agencies at its Now York meeting later this month.

The council president. Mr Leslie Kirkley who is also director of Oxfam, said it was "criminal” that the "incredible facilities of computer techniques" were not being used to direct the right aid to disaster areas.

Since May. 1970, three major disasters had added to the urgency of establishing such a control centre. ICVA, which represented most of the non-governmental aid organizations of the world, could be the instrument for putting this into operation with the least delay.