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Quake damages Mahatma's ancestral house

The ancestral house of Mahatma Gandhi in Porbander, Saurashtra, has been partially damaged in the worst-ever earthquake that rocked the Kutch region of Gujarat on Republic Day.

"The ancestral home of the Father of the Nation has developed some cracks due to the quake, but the overall historical structure is intact," Porbander District Collector M V Joshi told the Press Trust of India.

"Fortunately, Kirti Mandir, the national monument built in the memory of Gandhiji in 1950 adjacent to his birthplace by industrialist Nanjibhai Kalidas Mehta is safe," he added.

The house where Kasturba, Gandhi's wife, was born has also developed some cracks, but there is no danger to that structure either, he said.

He said that though only nine people were killed in last week's quake in the district, 80 per cent of the houses in 18 villages had been razed to the ground. "Our prime concern is to provide them with shelter," he added.

Joshi said people have been shifted to temporary tents and all steps were being taken to provide proper sanitation to prevent the outbreak of epidemics. Medical teams are visiting nearby villages at least once a day for routine check-ups of the affected people.

PTI

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