`Better to break bones than die under debris’

SURAT, JAN 28: Twenty people injured themselves jumping off their first- and second-floor homes when another tremor struck on Sunday morni...

SURAT, JAN 28: Twenty people injured themselves jumping off their first- and second-floor homes when another tremor struck on Sunday morning. The panic-jumpers were mostly from the Varachha and Udhna areas of the city. Although there were no deaths reported, the victims all suffered either head injuries or broken bones.

The tremor — an aftershock of the Friday earthquake — was felt about 6:40 am in Surat. Many Surtis had spent the night in fear, out in the streets, huddled against each other, wrapped in whatever blankets, quilts, and bedsheets they could find to protect themselves against the cold. On Ghoddod Road, and other well-appointed localities, people had stayed out — either under the night sky or under shamianas that colony residents’ associations had arranged for. But in lower middle-class pockets like Varachha and Udhna, it was a different story. Though some stayed out, many had to stay inside where it was warm and comfortable.

Said Zulfikar Hussain, who is being treated for a fractured leg at New Civil Hospital: “Many people spent the night in the open, but we finally decided to go in — and were prepared to jump out if a quake struck again. In the morning, when the earthquake struck, without wasting a second I jumped out of my first-floor house.”

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Pradeep Rammohan too didn’t think twice before jumping off his second-floor home. “The walls of my room have developed cracks from the tremors. Sunday morning, I was standing in my balcony when I felt the tremor. I just jumped without thinking. The tremor was mild and so my apartment is safe.”

Some others jumped because they dreaded the thought of being buried under debris. Said Kavita Gunwani, a construction worker, who was sleeping on the first-floor of a half-built building: “I jumped off with my one-year-old daughter Sangeeta. I thought it was better to be hurt in the fall rather than be buried under.”

The names of the injured being treated in New Civil Hospital are: Vijay Udaysingh (26); Pramod Birendra (23); Pannalal Samudra (20); Zulfikar Hussain; Chandan Prakash Chauhan (18); Mahendra Bengali (28); Mangalal Lalsingh Rathod (18); Rajesh Pradeep Bengali (17); Ravindra Tarachand Khasia (18); Krishna Sanatan; Mukesh Kamalraj (18); Ramesh Devji(35); Pradeep Rammohan (18); Raju Parimal (20); Himmat Sukha Kohli (27); Viplak Narayan (27); Manjula Satish (24); Kavita Vajrasinh Gunwani (25); Kavita Gunvani and her one-year-old daughter Sangita; and Prakash Babubhai.

Tonight too, many plan to stay outdoors because the fear of another strong tremor hangs heavy over the city. Others will seek refuge in homes that are warm and cosy, but also potentially dangerous.

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