life has come to a standstill for the residents of Doda and Kishtwar after frequent earthquakes. On May 1, the hilly districts were hit by an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the richter scale. Panicky residents are spending sleepless nights in the open. Many are seen seeking divine help to avert any disaster.
Educational institutions remain closed during the day and markets too wear a deserted look. Evenings come alive as several hundred residents gather outside their houses and spend the nights in tents pitched outside their homes or open spaces.
Fresh snowfall in higher reaches of the Doda and Kishtwar valley have compounded miseries for local residents asthey have to brave the chilly weather in the absence of adequate shelters.
Heightened seismic activity following major earthquake on May 1 has completely changed their life cycle. A total of 33 tremors have been recorded in the Bhaderwah-Doda-Kishtwar belt during the past fortnight with maximum 11 on May 1.
Two persons were killed and 69 others, including 26 students and three teachers, were injured when scores of buildings were damaged due to repeated tremors in the area.
To ward off any calamity, people belonging to different faiths and religions are seeking divine intervention and assemble across different religious places to offer mass prayers. Some of the families have also taken shelter in the religious places. People are angry and their patience is running thin in the absence of adequate relief and rehabilitation. The promised distribution of ration supplies for the affected population is yet to begin.
The tents issued by the various agencies are not reaching the most deserving and needy people, they claim.Distribution of relief material is tardy and is marred by allegations of political considerations.“For the last 10 days we are staying outside our home during night due to fear psychosis”, Salima Begum, a housewife in Bhaderwah said.
We are finding it difficult to gather enough courage to spend a night inside our houses. Aftershocks frighten us and we come rushing outside in search for safer places, Misra Begum said. We do not know when this trauma would come to an end, Nazir Ahmad, an elderly citizen staying with his grandchildren in a tent in Bhaderwah, said.
According to preliminary assessments made by the teams of National Disaster Management Authority at least 90 per cent concrete structures including several school and Government buildings and residential houses suffered damages and are vulnerable.
In remote areas people are facing many hardships under the sky due to chilly weather conditions. large number of displaced people, especially children staying out require medical assistance as many among them are running high fever.
Geological experts have already warned that some kind of pressure is building below the surface and the region may witness fresh tremors in the coming days.
The experts have also expressed their concern behind the recurrence of tremors with its epicentre in Bhaderwah region with alarming frequency.
“We have to be very careful in the coming days and have to verify whether the seismic activity is happening due to natural process or it is water induced seismic activity as major hydel projects were constructed in the region,” Prof RK Ganjoo of Department of Quaternary Geology, University of Jammu said.
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah are also regularly monitoring the situation and have directed the concerned agencies to mobilise their resources to extend a helping hand to the affected people. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called on the Prime Minister in New Delhi on Saturday seeking adequate relief and rehabilitation package for the affected people. Meanwhile, one of the local Congress MlA GM Saroori has already made an announcement that Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad got a relief package to the tune of 334 crore approved from the Centre for the affected people.