Monday’s quake was a repeat of August’s terror

All over these hills, facing the twin threats of landslides and earthquakes, an estimated 2,000 people belonging to 58 villages have been living under the sky or in makeshift tents for three days. It hasbeen a repeat of the terror of August’s landslides.

The only silver lining is that “fortunately, there were no deaths or serious injuries because the villagers rushed outdoors at once,” says Ranjit Rawat, a local shopkeeper. The reason: “You see, once people are exposed to disaster, they become more alert.”

Not a soul from the administration or any other agency has visited these villages so far. Today, they were pre-occupied with the visit of K C Pant whose gallant words were: “You live in a corner of Hindustan but rest assured that those in Lucknow and Delhi are always concerned about your welfare.”

“In August, we’d asked to be moved to stable ground. But the authorities are not bothered,” says Madan Singh of Burua village. “Those houses that are still upright in our village are full of cracks. My family is living in a tent, but is a tent protection against a boulder coming down the hill?.”

Madan says the village pradhan gave a petition to the SDM on Monday but nothing has happened. “InAugust, the authorities scolded us for not telling them that the hillside had been having small landslides for about 15 years. This time we’ve told Commissioner B M Vohra that all these villagers should be shifted to stable ground,” he says.

Villagers also complain of bungling in distribution of the Rs 25,000 as compensation for victims of the August disaster. “We, as part of the gram sabha, recommended that only those who lost everything be given the amount. And then political activists of various parties, as they saw it as a chance to create a vote bank, insisted that every family should get the amount. Then they wrote applications for the people. The result was that only people who had a long arm till the administration got the amount and the very poor, with no one to speak for them, were left out. There were manipulations also. Four people living in a house were shown as heads of four families, for instance,” says Rawat.

It is clear the villagers expect little from the administration. This time thepanchayat bhawan of Mansuna, a village on relatively stable ground, has been unlocked by the gram sabha for the refugees. About 40 people are living in it. “But we have no food. We need money for every little thing. In my village, the cooking wood didn’t cost me anything,” points out Mukhari Devi, 85, of Bheti village. Her son, Safri Lal, 53, two grandsons, their wives anad three great grandchildren are also camping in the Bhawan.