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Lodai, Khengarpur, Dhrang become tourist hotspots

If Lodai village near Bhuj has become famous as the epicentre of the quake that began with the "big bang," Khengarpur and Dhrang villages, which are a few kilometres away, are becoming tourist hotspots as they show deep imprints of the quake.

Even as Bhuj laments the loss of some of its famous medieval monuments, these villages are attracting hordes of people; it was at Dhrang that Mother Earth tore apart and spewed a black liquid. While much of the land in the vast, barren expanse of Khengarpur has become damp and gone grey. As one follows the jeep-track off the state highway, a closer look reveals a thin layer of dry, silvery-white sand topping damp brown soil. At some places, there are puddles of greenish-coloured water.

This phenomenon has helped seismologists in Bhuj decide the Republic Day tremor was tectonic, and not volcanic, in nature. For the visitors, though, it does not matter. Both relief workers and the local people are thronging the place to witness this "kudrat ka karishma" (Nature's miracle).

Similarly, some four kilometres from Lodai, in the direction opposite to Khengarpur, innumerable vehicles head for Dhrang to see the great crack that has developed as a result of the quake. "A long crack, around a foot-and-a-half deep, developed on the first day after the quake," says Suresh Waghela, a local photographer who is visiting the place for a second time.

Today, however, the crack is not as long and as deep; yet many visitors try to press the crack to 'assess the damage to Mother Earth' in their own way. The area around it is strewn with pouches of mineral water in total disregard for the environment.

The story in Lodai -- deemed to be the closest point to the epicentre -- is not very different. Literally every villager in this totally ravaged village (population 3,000) is sought after by the thronging 'tourists,' as also the national and international press, to get a feel of how it all began.

A local youth attempts to satisfy their curiosity in broken English: "It all began with a big bang. That day, in the morning, I first thought it was a big plane flying low. But, after the loud noise, I fell on the ground which was dangerously shaking under my feet. Soon, the buildings were swaying as if riding on a high tidal wave... and then, it was nothing," says the youngster.

While the locals may never forget the day of the quake, the adventurous see these places as exciting new tourist destinations.

PTI

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