India quake survivors rebuild lives

Source: CCTV.com

10-08-2006 08:52

In India-controlled Kashmir, quake survivors in the small Himalayan village of Teetwal have also struggled to rebuild their lives, with reconstruction help from the state government.

When the 7.6 magnitude quake hit the region on October 8th last year, it caused massive devastation across the Himalayan region in both parts of Kashmir. It killed about 73,000 people in the Pakistan-administered part, and nearly 1-thousand 3-hundred in that controlled by India. Three million people saw their homes destroyed. Begum Syeda was one of those survivors whose world collapsed in a matter of seconds.

Survivor Begum Syeda said,"My husband was killed, the house was leveled, and one of my children died last winter. It was a terrible time for us - we had no food, no money, nothing."

Many villagers have been hurrying to finish the rebuilding work before the onset of another harsh winter. Despite a massive relief operation by the government and a host of NGOs, many survivors are still short of money and are living in temporary shelters.

Lt. Jay Sanan from reconstruction official said,"It's going to take time. But we have provided them with the shelters. At least they can survive the winters. Every family has a roof on top and that has been provided by the army."

For the residents of Teetwal, it's been a race against time, and much of the money pledged has yet to materialize. The state government says 60-thousand rupees for each destroyed home will soon be distributed, so that those affected could have a warm home for the winter.

Editor:Sun Luying