When death toll is reported more than the village population, then better sense prevails!
This is exactly what has happened when I and my colleague Sushil Rao left Hyderabad when earth quake struck Latur, Killari, Holi and other villages in Maharashtra State.
The Latur earthquake occurred at 3.56 am local time on September 30, 1993. The main area affected were the districts of Latur and Osmanabad, including the Ausa block of Latur and Omerga of Osmanabad in Maharashtra, Western India.
Mr PNV Nair, our Editor, asked us to rush to the Latur for a coverage. We left by car around 7.30 pm the day quake occurred carrying some water bottles, biscuits fruits.
We reached Latur town around midnight and there was deadly silence with little or no street lights. We found a hotel and myself and Sushil checked in with a typewriter.
We called up Deccan Chronicle and described the scenario. DC staff watched Doordarshan and compiled the stories along with PTI and UNI agency copies.
We came out in search of food, but there were no hotels open. Finally, a family spotted us and asked us what we are looking for. We told them we are journalists to cover the quake. They offered us food and we left for hotel.
Our driver Sanjeev Reddy refused to sleep inside the hotel saying the hotel may collapse if quake occurs again. He also advised us to keep doors and windows open for emergency exit. That was scary!
In the morning we left the hotel for reporting to Killari and Holi villages, which was worst hit. We spoke a large number of people. Infact, Latur more specifically Killari was famous for grapes.
We went by Doordarshan death figures which put death toll at about 10,000 on the first day. It was more a guess based on flattened villages.
The next day local Marathi and other newspapers reported 15,000 to 20,000 dead. We reported about 15,000 deaths. Officials refused to give guess figures saying they cannot give information unless the body is physically counted.
We decided to meet the Collector IAS officer Praveen Singh Pardeshi. We met him and asked about the varying death toll in newspapers.
“What can I tell you? When the village population is 8000, some have survived and are in relief camps, you people reported 10,000, 20,000 dead. Please confirm and report. We cannot give you figure unless the body is recovered and accounted for. It takes time to get correct casualty and injured figures.”
In the nights, outskirts of Latur were really scary with officials disposing off bodies in mass funerals. Series of pyres were lit along the roads.
We were sceptical about the death toll and decided focus more on human interest stories like who people escaped from jaws of death, how families lost kith and kin and ghostly villages etc.
There were after shocks and we were advised by Mr Nair to stay in safe place. We moved to Solapur nearby.
After days passed by the final figures was:
Death of 7,928 people
Injury to 16,000 individuals
15,854 livestock perished
Complete destruction of 52 villages
30,000 houses collapsed entirely
27,000 houses sustained severe damage to amenities and infrastructure
2,11,000 houses across 13 districts suffered varying degrees of damage.
The devastation was largely due to extremely vulnerable housing stock constructed of uncoursed random rubble stone masonry with heavy earthen roofs supported by timber planks and posts.
About 67 villages around Killari in Latur district and contiguous areas were completely destroyed. The total property loss was approximately $333 million (Rs. 11.8 billion).
In response to the scale of the destruction, Govt. of Maharashtra launched an equally massive reconstruction program, known as MEERP (Maharashtra Emergency Earthquake Rehabilitation Program).
This program involved the relocation of 52 totally destroyed villages, the reconstruction of 22 severely damaged villages, and the repair/strengthening in about 2400 villages. The initiative placed a strong emphasis on rebuilding with better housing and infrastructure.
Our fortnight stay in Latur, Solapur was a great experience. Spot reporting was quite challenging. We typed out reports sitting under a tree or hotel and faxed it to Deccan Chronicle from Solapur post office. Several journalists from Mumbai and other places too were present.
My wife Dr C G Bhagirathi, Susheel parents were worried as there were after shocks and death toll was rising. We called up our families daily and assured nothing to worry.
Mr T Venkatram Reddy, Deccan Chronicle Chairman, Mr PNV Nair, Editor, Mr M P Rabindranath Asst. Editor and other staff members congratulated us for the excellent coverage. We visited again after a year to report on rehabilitation and resettlement.
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