Author: Seshadri Chari
Publication: Bharatiya Pragna
Date: February 2001.
It is ironical that one of the industrially
advanced States, Gujarat, has the most backward district, Kachchh. The
dubious distinction this district enjoys is of facing a famine every two
or three years. Besides all other characteristics of a neglected border
district such as infiltration, demographic aggression, smuggling etc. the
new addition now will be - death and destruction caused by the earthquake
that has killed close to over half a lakh people and flattened nearly five
hundred villages.
There are some 887 villages in Kachchh
according to the 1981 census, out of which 772 were declared "no water
source villages". In the eleven decades between 1842 and 1951 a total of
110 villages were reduced to waste desolate land. Between 1951 and 1981
another 137 villages simply vanished because of mass exodus. Now with this
terrible earthquake, Kachchh has lost half of its villages, and the remaining
ones, unsafe for dwelling.
The history of Kachchh dates back
to the Harappan era. Enriched by Sindhu, the rich and fertile land was
home of the early civilization, now evident from the remnents in Dholavira.
The landmass of Banni, once the fertile cradle of Sindhu civilization is
today a barren marsh. This landmass was created out of a severe earthquake
that hit Kachchh in 1819 separating Sindhu from Kachchh. After 182 years
this is the major earthquake that threatens to wipe out Kachchh completely,
if immediate and serious efforts are not undertaken on war footing.
The highly enterprising people of
Kachchh are almost everywhere on the globe, contributing not only to business,
trade and commerce but also promoting art and culture. The younger generation
too does not lag behind. A small group among them formed an association
in 1985 called the Kachchh Yuvak Sangh (KYS) and got down to the task of
reinvesting their lands. They run schools, old age homes, Shishu Mandirs,
conduct guided tours of Kachchh and network among themselves in Mumbai
and elsewhere. On January 26, 2001, they found a new task for them - to
rebuild Kachchh.
The KYS had organised a social awareness
and medical camp at Lakashri near Bachau. The leader of the team Pankaj
Shah reached Samkheda station and phoned home to inform that the medical
supplies are safe. When they left Mumbai they did not have reservation
of their tickets. When the team reached their school the R-Day function
had already begun. Except for a few staff members the children were on
the parade ground. Then, suddenly, the earth shook. For a few seconds none
of them could realise what was happening.
"I could see our jeep jump about
two feet above the ground" recalls Pankaj. He held on to his eight-year-old
son Pariket and all of them ran towards the center of the ground. There
were two high rise buildings that had come up in front of the school. Luckily
for the children, one building tilted and the other one developed cracks
but did not collapse. Finally what appeared to be a "long time" ended.
Throughout the earthquake there was a peculiar noise, like some ten helicopters
flying over your head all at the same time, says Pankaj.
Four to five, days after the quake,
even a distant drove of a plane or helicopter is enough to scare them out
of their work. It took about ten minutes for them to realise the extent
of damage to nearby areas. Seeing the buildings in front of them shake
like "coconut trees swinging in the air", and then collapse, many of them
first thought it was some terrorist attack. But soon they were engulfed
in a thick cloud of dust. The first thing to do was to keep the terrified
children together. Most of them were so terrified that they stood like
statues, rooted to where they were told to stand. The teachers, some of
them badly hurt began to respond to the situation. Since nobody knew what
to do next, the following few hours were chaotic, with people running from
one place to another, looking for their near and dear ones. The KYS was
able to put a small team together by noon. Slowly they realised that the
whole township of Bachau was reduced to rubble.
After the volunteers got over the
initial shock they got and organised themselves like trained army jawans.
The team found a friend in Huzefa Merchand. The Mumbai Amateur Radio Society
"MARS) members could set up a HAM center within a few hours and by 27th
morning they could establish contact with their friends all over the world.
The HF units began to crackle and soon hundreds of families in nearby Mumbai
and other cities across got telephone calls from local HAM operators informing
them about the wellbeing of their relatives and friends.
"We got into this as a hobby. But
after the Latur earthquake and Orissa cyclone we have realised that our
hobby can save lives" says Huzefa who wants more people to get trained
in HAM radio operations. The boys kept themselves busy continuously and
even made a temporary tent for themselves. After two days the local telephone
department staff came and set up a telecommunications center. But there
were none to manage it. So the KYS volunteers took over the center.
The other group which got itself
geared up to relief work within just half an hour of the killer earthquake
was the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Most of the swayamsevaks at
Bhuj had just returned from their shakhas or were going about their routine
when the quake hit. Some of them rushed to the RSS, office near Jubilee
ground. The office building was safe but what they saw on the way gave
enough indication of the intensity of the quake. The RSS, volunteers quickly
made groups of ten and fanned out into different parts of the town. When
the news of earthquake first came out, the news channels were only showing
the extent of damage in Ahmedabad. The damage in Kachchh came to light
only from day two. Only then did the outside world realise the seriousness
of the situation in Bhuj, Anjar, Gandhidham, Bachau and other areas.
The Government machinery virtually
came to a standstill after the disaster. Although the whole of Kachchh
is an earthquake-prone area there is not a single disaster management center
anywhere. The authorities do not have any guidelines it, case of a disaster.
In fact the Kandla Port was visited by a cyclone only three years ago and
again last year. Surat was hit by a plague a few years ago. But even till
date the major cities in Gujarat, and for that matter anywhere else, have
no crisis management group. Even in small townships like Bhuj and Anjar,
people have been allowed to build multi-storied structures showing scant
regard to building byelaws.
In Gandhidham, while new structures
in the market place have virtually sunk below the ground, the Railway colony
has survived the shock. The one story stone structures there have not even
developed cracks let alone crumble. Kandla Port close to Gandhidham has
suffered while Adoni, another few kilometers away has not faced much problem.
"The Ports are expected to withstand
cyclone and earthquake", says Captain Abhijit Choudhary of INS Nirdeshak.
Two Indian Navy ships INS Nirdeshak and INS Jamuna were on their routine
surveillance duty off the Kandla Sea. The ships, which were forever rocking,
felt the tremors. "So severe was the shock that we thought we have hit
stone or sand dune", said the engineer on board. They even sent two divers
to check the damage. They both came up to say that the ship has another
thirty meters of water below. It was then that they realised about the
earthquake. They were instructed to go to Kandla Port and stay put there.
The three operation theatres on board functioned round the clock to save
precious lives. Kandla Port became a nodal point to transport serious patients
to nearby Mumbai.
Similarly, the Railway authorities
at Gandhidham started their operations almost from the third day. "More
than one hundred railway stations have collapsed. But the tracks remain
in tact", said a railway official at Gandhidham. Minister of State for
Railways O. Rajagopal made a quick visit to Bhuj and Gandhidham to assess
the situation. Although the Railway authorities did not receive any official
letter for running free service to transport patients, the officers themselves
made arrangements for this. While the platform at Gandhidham was converted
into a makeshift hospital, the bogies in each train were reserved for patients.
First it was a rude shock on January
26 to the residents of Kachchh and Ahmedabad. Then it was coping with the
stress. And now it is slowly turning into anger and frustration. The relief
and rescue teams from abroad have gone back. Workers from the RSS, Kachchh
Yuvak Sangh, Swaminarayan organisation, Gayatri Parivar and many other
NGOs are working beyond their resources. Nobody can replace the Government
machinery completely. But everyone can supplement it.
The debris will have to be cleared
soon. More dead bodies would have to be recovered. The dead have no problems.
It is only the living who are facing death and starvation everyday. Even
the people whose houses are intact are afraid to go and start living in
them. In some places like Bhuj and Anjar not a single standing structure
is safe. The stench of the decomposing bodies is horrible. Even rescue
workers cannot work under those conditions. Meanwhile there is an opinion
going round that soon the district will pass over to early summer and at
over forty degree Celsius heat the bodies will just get decomposed in the
natural process. But in this process, the place needs to be fully evacuated.
Almost everyday villagers come in
groups and try to salvage as much as possible. This creates a law and order
problem too. While Ahmedabad and other nearby areas might recover relatively
sooner, Kachchh may take a longer time. Close on the heels of the earthquake
Kachchh is likely to face a drought now. If it rains, it will certainly
create more problems, what with so many bodies buried under debris and
animal carcasses lying around. And if the rains fail, severe drought is
certain. Going by the turn of events, it would be prudent for the Gujarat
Government to set up a separate earthquake relief and rehabilitation department.
The Kachchh area can probably have an independent team on the lines of
the development board promised to them long back. Normalcy has to be restored
in Ahmedabad, and at good speed. Kachchh has to be rebuilt. The rest of
Gujarat was to work overtime for the lost time. The entire country is standing
as one man behind Gujarat at this hour of crisis.
(The writer is the Editor, organiser,
New Delhi)
