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Modi is Kutch quake victims' last hope

Savera R Someshwar in Bhuj

India's western state, Gujarat, waits for January 26 with bated breath. Exactly a year ago on that day, this coastal state, which shares a border with Pakistan, was ripped apart by a devastating earthquake measuring a stunning 7.9 (official magnitude: 6.9) on the Richter Scale.

The worst affected of Gujarat's districts has been the arid Kutch. Though the work of rehabilitation is in progress here, its people still live in tin houses and tents, or in the open. Only a lucky few have managed to move into their repaired homes.

This is where the state's chief minister will be celebrating India's 52nd Republic Day and mourning the loss of 13,805 lives, 12,221 of which were lost in Kutch alone.

Those who have survived are facing many problems and hope that on this two-day visit the chief minister will be able to resolve at least some of them.

Kishorebhai M Darji, who lives in Sector 8 of Tin City - built as temporary accommodation for those who lost their homes in the quake - is optimistic about Modi's visit. There are numerous problems that he and his fellow residents are facing, but they will be satisfied with the redressal of just one: the lack of proper drainage, which has led to streams of filth behind the sector, and large ponds of stagnant dirty water.

"See this," he points to the pigs wallowing in the filthy water that has gathered next to a pond of clean water. "This is the waste water coming from the kitchens, toilets and bathrooms of sectors 1-7. Only some of it evaporates, the rest collects here. We have petitioned the authorities; a picture of this has even appeared in local papers, but there is no sign of any action. Three children have already fallen in and hurt themselves, while a cow which had fallen in was found floating dead the next day."

Sector 8, which houses some 80 families belonging to the darzi (tailor) community, has now formed a committee of five persons. They have collected money on their own initiative and built a drainage pit, but it will not contain the wastewater for long. They now plan to meet the chief minister and petition him to order the creation of some kind of drainage system that will resolve this problem.

Outside the district collector's office in Bhuj sits 53-year-old Anwarbhai Hussainbhai Lakhara. He looks tired after his 60 km journey from his predominantly Muslim village, Lakhara; his black turban and sun-wrinkled faced are caked with dust. His two companions have already abandoned him in the long wait for Additional Collector M H Ghadvi and returned to try their luck with the talati [a local revenue official].

Anwarbhai's problem is that many of the people in his village have not received housing compensation from the government; he, for example, has received only Rs 3,000 and wants to know how he is expected to build a new house with such a paltry amount. He comes from a community of cattle herdsmen who have lost many of their cows too in the quake.

"Nobody is answering us. They all want money. Where are we going to bring the money from? We've lost everything," he says, spitting into the dust. His eyes do not waver from the door to Ghadvi's office.

After a while, he readies to leave. "I have been waiting a long time," he says. "I don't think he will be able to see me today. But I have heard the chief minister is coming here. We will put our problem directly to him. I am sure he will help us."

We request him for a photograph. He refuses with a gentle apology, "I hope you understand. But those who have to live in the water should not make an enemy of the crocodile."

In Bhachau town, where reconstruction has been minimal, the merchant's association plans to hand over a memorandum to Modi, requesting that the building of the marketplace be given priority. "Once the marketplace comes up, the rest of the town will fall into place," says the association's office-bearer, Harshad N Thakker. He says his association has been promised 10 minutes with the chief minister.

Harsh Kumar Chibber, collector of Kutch district, is, however, sure none of this is going to happen. "This is not the first time the chief minister is going to be here - he has come here four times already. This time, however, he has a specific agenda; his itinerary has been fixed. There is not going to be any direct interaction with the people."

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