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To the quake's epicentre

Vikram Vakil in Lodai

Lodai, a small village, 20 kms from Bhuj, is the epicentre of the Republic Day earthquake

No geologist or government official has yet bothered to visit this village even six days after the earthquake.

"This is the epicentre and yet nobody has come to see us," says Laxmanbhai Ahir, the sarpanch of Lodai. "The earth started shaking on the morning on January 26 and then a crack developed in the ground and a blue liquid fountain erupted from the ground."

"We thought that the Pakistanis had attacked India and were firing missiles. But it was only after five minutes of silence that we realised that it was an earthquake."

Interestingly, there were only 22 deaths and only 600 houses collapsed despite the fact that there are nearly 4,000 people staying in and around the village.

"We did not wait for any relief agencies for the funerals. We took them to the local cremation ground and cremated them," adds Mahir.

Lodai village has mostly members from the Ahir community, engaged in farming. Till 1988, many villagers used to travel the border areas of Pakistan and exchange goods. But after relations between the two countries soured on the Kashmir issue, villagers were not allowed to cross the border by the Border Security Force.

"At present, agriculture is the only source of income," says Mahir.

The place where the blue liquid emerged has left a permanent mark on the land and has become the centre of attraction for villagers.

So far no rescue work has started in Lodai village. The villagers are still without electricity and the only people who have reached are NGOs.

Another fear of villagers is that the land will not be cultivable and the Kajoti dam for which they depend has been partially damaged.

"We will face a tough summer this year because of the quake," say Vira Mahir, a resident.

Interestingly, not far away from Lodai is Jawahar village. This village was named after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who visited it after the 1956 quake. Jawahar was the epicentre of that earthquake and 30 people had died then.

Meanwhile, locals in Anjaar denied that the army had cordoned off the town and told rediff.com that they are requesting the army not to go on with relief operations in the night.

"We are objecting as we fear that our valuables will be robbed," says Rajubhai Kodrani.

The Complete Coverage | List of earthquake sites

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