Author:
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: February 5, 2001
The roof could come crashing down
on Mukesh Shah's head at any moment, but the Indian businessman says he
would rather risk death by opening his shop in the quake-hit Indian town
of Bhuj than beg on the streets.
The multi-storey building housing
Shah's small grocery store was badly damaged in last month's killer earthquake
that struck Gujarat on January 26.
But Shah said on Monday that he
had no choice but to open for business -- even though none of the other
shopkeepers in the building had returned.
"When it's time to die, it's time
to die," he said when asked why he had reopened despite the dangers and
visible signs of damage to the building. "Death is written by God."
"I come from an upper middle class
family and we lost everything," he added. "I would rather be dead than
beg on the street."
Authorities have been telling people
to stay away from damaged buildings in case there were more aftershocks
from the earthquake that struck the state with a force measuring 7.9 on
the Richter Scale.
Close to epicentre
Other shopkeepers have opened in
Bhuj -- close to the epicentre of the quake -- but most of them ran street
stalls rather than more formal businesses in high-rise buildings.
Shah and his family owned several
shops in the town -- as well as their homes -- but most were destroyed
in the calamity.
He lost a sister-in-law and her
two children in the earthquake that killed an estimated 30,000 people.
For Shah -- who is sleeping outdoors
with friends after taking his family to an uncle's home 100 km away --
the fear of begging for food has driven him to re-open his shop despite
the risks.
"There is no choice," he said.
Many people forced from their homes
in Bhuj have been relying on handouts from aid groups.
But Shah said that while his number
of customers was down from before the quake, the ones who did shop in his
store were happy that he was open.
"There's nowhere for them to go
right now," he said.
