A traditional well near Dungarivandh, which was in a state of disuse, was revived by Samerth with the help of the local hamlet-dwellers. Pic: Chandan Nandy

Further inquiry with my interlocutors revealed that the larger well, built with funds from the local panchayat sometime in 2003-04, but now lying in a dilapidated condition and stuffed with rocks and other detritus, is completely unusable. It cost the panchayat Rs 5 lakh to build this ‘well’ in a region that is now reeling in one of the worst droughts in 30 years. Less than 10 metres away is the smaller well: it is an old, traditional well built with rocks. It is 40 feet deep and has 15-feet of water. Last year, Samerth Charitable Trust, an Ahmedabad non-governmental organisation, partnered with the residents of Dungarivandh and helped rebuild and revive the well at a cost of only Rs 25,000/- with community contributions.

“The vandh residents walk up a few hundred metres to collect water from this well. Their livestock graze here and drink water from the concrete trough. This well supplements the vandh residents’ meagre and measured supply of water, especially at a time when there has been no rainfall across most blocks of Kutch since July-August 2018,” said NarendrabhaiKoli², a resident of Shivani vandh which is 50 kms from Dungari hamlet and a conscientious and dependable field coordinator for Samerth.

Beyond the government

The contrasting picture of local governmental profligacy and apathy on the one hand and serious efforts to revive and preserve traditional sources of water in one of India’s hottest and water-scarce regions on the other marks the distinguishing feature of how the “perennial problem of water” is dealt with by those in authority and those working for an NGO.

This finds physical evidence in the work Samerth has done at the rustic and otherwise backward Dungari hamlet where almost all of the adults are illiterate. Here, each small cluster of tiled-roof houses have underground, rain-roof water harvesting structures, each of which have a storage capacity of 15,000 litres of water supply by tankers operated. The vandh residents said that these tankers supply water to Dungari vandh and its nearby hamlets every alternate day. These structures were constructed by Samerth Trust with the support from Water Harvest, UK based organization.

Most households in the vandh use up about 400 litres of water – for both and human and animal consumption. While farming—chiefly cumin and castor—is the main source of livelihood in and around Dholavira, most of the vandh households also domesticate goats that are sold for Rs 2,000 a piece to supplement their income from agriculture. Since last year, when the monsoon season—usually July to August—did not herald any rainfall, farming activities practically came to a standstill in Dholavira. While the vast and arid expanse of the arid Greater Rann is barely 2.5 kms further west of Dungarivandh, the hamlet has no source of water from the Narmada river. The nearest Narmada canal is 35 kms away at Amrapar village.

Till last year, before the long, dry spell set in, the womenfolk of Dungari hamlet would work as farm labour on nearby fields on an average daily wage of Rs 200. Now, since Bhachau came under the grip of drought, the women have no work. The drought has also forced most menfolk of the villages to seek other avenues of earning in other parts of the state. Most of the vandh and village women still walk to the nearby, Samerth-revived well to fetch water in steel pitchers, but it certainly is a relief from the 5-km trudge that was the practice 15-20 years ago. Dungari vandh’s women folk look at awe at the hard-plastic, mobile water carriers that Samerth project coordinator Ashish Mehta and field coordinator Narendra bhai Koli have brought along with them to test their “acceptability” and efficacy.

The contraption involves a 45-litre capacity heavy-duty, plastic pitcher that can be dragged on flat and/or uneven terrain with the help of a two-pronged, elongated handle. The carrier, brought over from a Maharashtra-based company, is a curious object for the Dungari vandh women who giggle and then break into laughter as one of them volunteers to fill it up and drag around sandy and rocky parts of the hamlet to test its usefulness. The water carrier’s efficacy is, however, not lost on them. “It will certainly be useful. We don’t have to carry pitchers on our heads,” Shantiben Koli (35) said.³

A new contraption: A woman of Dungarivandh in Dholavira village trying out a relatively efficient water-carrying pitcher manufactured by a Maharashtra-based company. Pic: Chandan Nandy

Extent of the drought

The problem of water scarcity, especially in the midst of a prolonged drought, is not just limited to the Rann’s peripheral villages and hamlets – it pervades across most of Kutch district’s nine blocks, including Rapar, which has 97 villages, spread between the Little and Greater Ranns. One measure of the extent of the drought, according to Rapar block development officials, is that while there has been some crop growth across 17 villages because of availability of Narmada waters, there has been ‘nil’ rainfall in the rest of 80 villages since July-August last year, making it “one of the worst droughts”⁴ in many years, rendering it difficult, if not impossible, to provide for water for irrigation purposes. Block officials recalled the last devastating drought that hit Kutch between 1986 and 1987⁵.

But this time, while villagers across Rapar and Bachau are making do with drinking water, which is supplied via tankers, though at seven to 10 days’ interval, there is practically no water available for irrigation. This caused last year’s devastating crop failure, forcing the state government to declare monetary compensation for farmers across several districts of Gujarat, including Kutch, Banaskantha and Sabarkantha, just before this summer’s crucial parliamentary elections. While compensation is based on the volume of land held by the farmers, the minimum and maximum amount per farmer is Rs 6,000 and Rs 13,600 which, by most accounts, is far below the expected return from their expected normal sale of their farm produce.

Extent of the crisis

On the morning of April 8, the sky over Gagodar village, left off National Highway-29 (which goes as far as Porbandar) was a perfect blue.

Pointing to the cloudless sky above the ruins of an old fortress, my interlocutor at Samerth, project coordinator Ashish Mehta, said, “It should rain this monsoon, otherwise we do not know what might happen”, before calling out to his colleagues Balwantbhai Rathore and Dungarbhai Dodiya, among the earliest volunteers when Samerth’s establishment at Gagodar began effective operations in the immediate aftermath of the devastating 2001 earthquake. “It has to rain this year,” Balwantbhai said, exuding confidence that the rain gods will be kind to Kutch this year than they were the previous monsoon.

The available rainfall data for Rapar block indicates that between 1991 and 2018 rainfall was largely erratic and patchy. While in 1991, 1992 and 1993 Rapar recorded 134 mm, 390 mm and 268 mm of rainfall, it received 714 mm of rainfall in 1994. This pattern repeats itself through the years after 1994. While in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, Rapar had 157 mm, 259 mm, 291 mm and 658 mm, there was only 25 mm rainfall in 2018, making it abundantly clear that the vagaries of nature that the people of this part of Kutch have had to deal with. It was observed by another government sponsored study that the average rainfall for Kutch (between 2006 and 2015) was only 474 mm⁶, which was the lowest among all districts of Gujarat. As recently as March 28, 2019, Business Line reported that the “region is witnessing its worst drought in 30 years”. While “16 of its dams have gone dry, there is drinking water but nothing for cattle, and yet its people remain resilient”.⁷

Quoting an official from the Kutch collectorate, one report said, “Looking at the severity of the scarcity, unprecedented measures are being pressed into action. In the Kutch district alone, we have opened 372 cattle camps, where over 2.20 lakh cattle are being given shelter, while another 1.24 lakh cattle are registered at 134 cattle shelter homes (panjarapols). So far, about 5.7 crore kg (57,000 tonnes) of fodder has been distributed at a token Rs 2 a kg. These are historically high numbers”. The district was declared scarcity-affected in October 2018, paving the way for relief measures.⁸

To tide over the drought condition, and the impact it continues to have on humans and animals, whose lives are intertwined, the Gujarat government has been sourcing fodder from other parts of the state. Media reports suggest that besides adversely affecting animal husbandry, agriculture has been hit big time. “Kharif sowing has reduced to half at 292,200 hectares as against 596,000 hectares last year. Sowing for most crops has fallen drastically. This includes bajra (84 percent), jowar (77 percent), moong (77 percent), groundnut (50 percent) and sesame (66 percent), besides fodder (20 percent).⁹

Even as temperatures hover in the region of 40-43 degree Celsius in early April—and the worst is yet come—the villagers across Rapar and Bachau blocks rely on government tanker-supplied water, which, invariably, is not adequate, especially when the frequency of such supplies is between a week and 10 days. In some locations across Rapar, the tankers visit every 15 days. Rain fed ponds has dried up in village after village, leaving residents to rely on old, traditional wells.

Whither Narmada?

A dry Narmada canal near Rapar village. Pic: Chandan Nandy

As we go north of Gagodar, the landscape and the vegetation changes: on either side of the road, the relative greenery behind is replaced by sand-rock and cactii and prosopisjuliflora (with thorny stems and small, simple leaves). The Narmada canal en route to Rapar town is practically dry. The concrete banks of the canal are lined with pipes that would otherwise have drawn water, but the pumps are inactive. A new Narmada canal is being laid on the outskirts of Gagodar but Samerth project coordinator Ashish Mehta believes that it could take as much as a year-and-a-half to finish the project. And yet 10 kms north of Gagodar is Chakasari hamlet (under Kidiyanagar gram panchayat), a wildness of rocks and sand interspersed with small plots of cultivable land.

The hamlet was settled a couple of years ago by three families belonging to the Koli community. These three families brought their cattle (37 buffaloes) along too. They had migrated from Ramparvandh, which is 10 kms from Chakkasari, because of lack of any water resources near their original hamlet. Fortunately, at Chakkasari, they could set up temporary homes made of wooden stilts with thick plastic sheets, because the dug-well which Samerth had helped construct in 2011 was nearby and constitutes the only source of water for them.

Some local farmers, to whom the land belonged, were generous enough to allow these families (24 members) to put up temporary sheds. Just next to the well is a high embankment of a rain-fed pond (also developed by Samerth) from which recharge water is channeled into the well which in turn helps irrigate the small plots of land the three Koli families cultivate to raise crops such as jowar, bajra, castor, cumin and some wheat and leafy saag. These families will continue to live and cultivate their chosen crops at Chakasari till such time that there is no rainfall. “Once it rains, they will return to Ramparvandh,” Mehta said.

Farmers growing fodder for their cattle at Chakasari vandh. In spite of drought construction of pond by Samerth has helped them to sustain. Pic: Ashish Mehta

Past Rapar, at Davri village, for instance, some of the womenfolk are at work—washing clothes or utensils—by the side of one of three large wells on the edge of the 15-acre pond that has been completely dry for three consecutive years. Samerth has revived the wells. It also helped construct the boundary and outer wall of a second well which is 30 feet deep with water at 15 feet deep.

“When it rains, the talav (pond) would fill up, but it has remained dry since last summer, forcing all villagers to fall back on the wells,” said Hastaben Madhvi, a brahmin.¹⁰ Although economically better off than people of other castes, Hastaben too has to fetch water from the village wells to replenish her stock at home which is stored in a 1,000-litre capacity tank. The need for human consumption is such that every conceivable steel pitcher at Hastaben’s house is used to store to water. The main water tank in Hastaben’s house is replenished every four days.

“There is no severe shortage of drinking water, though the same cannot be said for water for irrigation purposes. The village has four smaller ponds that cater to irrigation/agricultural needs. Four to five hamlets adjoining Davri get water from the Narmada canal, but just about once in 15 days,” Hastaben, who possesses 2 acres of cultivable land and was, therefore, compensated Rs 5,000 for crop failure by the Gujarat government, informed.¹¹In Rapar and its adjoining villages, Mehta said, the problem is compounded because the block experiences a regular shortfall of 40 to 50 percent in supply in terms of million litre daily (MLD).

Like Hastaben, her 45-year-old aunt, Lakshmiben Madhvi, too possesses a 1,000-litre tank. Her husband, who is a Gujarat State Road
Transport Corporation bus driver, has no land. Lakshmiben and her family does not have to worry about water for irrigation, but she said, “we need to have sufficient water for daily use”. The volume of water that households in Davri are able to store depends, to some extent, on their caste status and therefore their relative wealth. Unlike Hastaben and Lakshmiben, the house of the village sarpanch RawabhaiMuchhadiya, a harijan, has a 500-litre overground tank. His wife, KakkhubenMuchhadiya (55), who is unlettered, does not have an LPG connection in her kitchen and has to feed the earthen oven with firewood.¹² Even as the residents of Davri collectively face this year’s drought, the silver lining, however, is that the village’s caste divisions do not find expression politically or socially. The social amity prevails at the wells too whose waters women and men of all castes use.

The womenfolk of Davri village in Rapar block, finishing their tasks by a well. The wells that Samerth helped revive. Pic: Chandan Nandy

At a time when Gujarat is headed for parliamentary elections, which are due on April 23 across all the 26 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, the most important issue for the electorate here is spelled out in one word: water. An overall water scarcity caused by no rainfall, governmental mismanagement in terms of timely supply to the desperate hamlets and villages and inadequate and insufficient reach of the Narmada canals, especially when irrigation has been adversely impacted, have taken their toll on Rapar and blocks, especially on agriculture. However, adding to the woes caused by the drought, the increasing salinity of the soil, caused by ingress of sea water that is resulting in ever-increasing fallowness of cultivable land.

Advancing salinity

Samerth field coordinator Narendrabhai Chavda informed that in Shirani vandh, where he lives, salinity ingress has struck in 13 acres of what was till recently agricultural land belonging to Lakha Samra Koli, a farmer of the same hamlet. “The ingress has happened over a period of 15 years, according to Lakha Samra’s estimate,” Narendrabhai said,¹³ adding that a general survey by local residents has indicated that as much as 150 acres of land has become fallow and agriculturally “useless” because of salinity in Shirani vandh, which borders the Greater Rann of Kutch.

The extent and gravity of this “creeping” salinity is borne out by a 2017 study which said that in Kutch, “the quality of ground water below depth of 150 mt shows significant deterioration”. The same study said that across the district, but especially in the coastal areas and regions bordering the Rann, 3.65 lakh hectares of land was “affected by salinity ingress”. Of the seven coastal districts in Gujarat, the soil in Kutch was found to have the highest levels of electrical conductivity (EC) which is a term used to describe a measurement unit of salinity—640-20200,in this case—and the water quality was found to be “brackish and saline”.¹⁴

That is not all. The study went on to state that according to a 2006 research carried out by the Tata Trust’s Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell, 242 villages of Kutch district were faced with salinity ingress of the aquifers.¹⁵ Ominously, the study claimed that “increasing salinity of land and water resources in coastal areas is a serious environmental problem in Gujarat. Availability of safe drinking water and drinking water-related health hazards have remained key issues of concern for villages in these saline areas”.¹⁶

Another study (across seven districts of Gujarat, including Kutch) of 2017-18 said as ominously that “prolonged use of saline water for irrigation has led to a decline in agricultural yields and has decreased soil fertility. This has made it difficult to use the land for future cultivation. Salinity has also affected underground water aquifers, leaving over 1,500 villages (across the seven coastal states of Gujarat, including Kutch) without potable drinking water”.¹⁷The physical evidence of this “salinity scourge” was seen across my travel through Rapar and Bhachau blocks: clearly marked plots of once-cultivable-land now lying fallow because of the coating of the surface with layers of salt.

A plot of what was once cultivable agricultural land at Shirani vandh, close to the Greater Rann of Kutch. Pic: Narendrabhai Chavda, a field coordinator who works for Samerth

Nobody in Samerth is more aware of ground water salinity, increasing desertification and the massive problem of water scarcity—which are inextricably linked to each other—than the NGO’s other field coordinator Narsibhai Masalia who went through an intensive and rigorous year-long training programme to comprehend how best to alleviate the problem of the rural folks directly faced with the calamitous condition at hand. Even as successive Gujarat governments devised and built canals that would carry the Narmada water from the Sardar Sarovar dam, the Samerth team headed by Gazala Paul conceived a plan to undertake pedology (study of soil) followed by a geo-hydrological study in particular areas across Rapar to inquire into how best to launch their intervention programme.

“At that time there was much talk at almost all levels that the Narmada waters would reach all talukas and villages, especially in northern Kutch, but there was no focus on reviving traditional means and methods of finding water sources and preserving them. For Samerth, the most important aspect of its intervention programmes would be participatory water management,” Paul said.

Kanmer study

A geo-hydrological and pedological study in Kanmer village, undertaken in 2012, for instance, revealed that the area had three kinds of soil and which would help figure out the “run-off” of water and/or rain water. This study helped Samerth to work out the types of structures that needed to be constructed or revived to devise the NGOs participatory groundwater management programme at reasonable costs. Narsibhai’s experience at Kanmer speaks for itself: he knows the soil types in the study area like the back of his hand – where the natural dyke (3.5 kms in length and extends into a part of Gagodar) runs, which are the run-off and recharge zones and what structures would be best suitable for the villagers.

Reassuringly, the Kanmer study found, that there was no salinity ingress even at 100 feet depth. A similar study at Gagodhar, however, found that the underground water at a depth of 350 feet was not fit for human consumption because of salinity. “We found progressive salinity in areas farther south of Gagodhar (closer to the Little Rann) and increasing salinity in villages closer to the Greater Rann,” Narsibhai said.¹⁸

Reviving traditional resources

Between 2009 and 2010 Samerth undertook to construct and revive, at low cost, old wells, stepwells and underground water tanks which are now proving handy and helpful for a few villages and hamlets in drought-struck Rapar block. Wherever possible, Samerth has also pushed for public participation in reviving ponds which are a major source of water for cattle and other livestock as well as good for human use. One such pond (talav) is spread over 15 acres in Adhesar village on the edge of the Little Rann, which is 28 kms east of Gagodar.

The pond is divided into two parts separated by an embankment: the larger portion is for human consumption, though villagers are not allowed to wash clothes; the second portion is for cattle and livestock, especially cows, buffalos and bullocks that are housed in an adjoining cattleshed (gaushala). There are two other gaushalas in Adhesar which is a fairly large village. “The pond, which is called PirwalaKuan, became functional in 2016 after Samerth helped desilt it,” admits Adhesar village sarpanchBhaggabhaiAhir who enjoys the support of the ruling BJP.

The 15-acre pond or talav that Samerth helped revive at Adhesar village, Rapar block. Pic: Chandan Nandy

A few hundred metres away is the village fodder distribution centre where feed for cattle is sold at a subsidized rate (in the wake of the drought) of Rs 2 per kg. Adhesar residents at the fodder distribution centre were equivocal about the scarcity of water for both humans and animals.

Bhaggabhai took us to a 300-year-old stepwell which till last year lay unused and had become a trash dumping spot for the villagers. Last year, Samerth took up the challenge to clean up the trash and other detritus. “It took 12 days of continuous work to clean up the Phulkivav stepwell. Now, water from here is pumped out and taken to nearby cattle troughs. The stepwell is served by recharge or groundwater but not by water from Narmada canals,” Mehta said.¹⁹ Bhaggabhai is evidently satisfied by Samerth’s effort. He said, “Before I became sarpanch, Samerth showed interest in reviving this old stepwell. They began work in May 2018 and took less than two weeks to clean it up”.²⁰

As in the far-flung parts of Rapar and Bachau, primarily villages and hamlets closer to the Greater Rann, the people of Adhesar, especially those belonging to the Rabari shepherd community, and others on the margins are trying to eke out their living despite the harsh consequences of the drought.

Dayabhai Rabari (50) supports a six-member family. He possesses half acre of land which couldn’t be cultivated last year as there was no rainfall. The consequent crop failure hit him and his family hard. Dayabhai got a compensation of Rs 8,000 which he has already exhausted, meagre as the amount is. “Had there been normal rainfall last year, I would have made as much Rs 80,000,” Dayabhai said. Sixty-two-year-old Ratnabhai Ahir, whose crop also failed because of no rainfall, received a compensation of Rs 13,600 which “is not sufficient” especially when he has to run a seven-member family. Consequently, he now has to work on other’s land as a farm labour.

Adhesar village resident DayabhaiRabari (left) at the panchayat office along with sarpanchBhaggabhaiAhir. Pic: Chandan Nandy

Samerth, which has been working on rejuvenating and reviving wells, stepwells and ponds, across 20 of Rapar’s 97 villages over the past 10 years or so, has also leveraged MGNREGA projects which have in turn benefitted the villagers financially. “We have been working among some of the socially and economically marginalised communities in these villages and our aim has been to develop inclusive programmes that would ensure social equity. However, being an NGO with limited manpower and financial capabilities, Samerth would like to see in the future greater involvement of the gram panchayats in the participatory water management projects. On its part, the state government could adopt and develop on some of the models that Samerth has devised,” Paul said, hoping that such involvement would happen sooner rather than later.²¹

The road ahead

For Samerth the last decade of its extensive work across Rapar has certainly benefited hundreds, if not thousands, of people who “live on the edge”. According to Paul, while Samerth’s endeavor has been a challenging exercise, it has also been a fruitful one, especially in terms of results. And yet it has the potential to do more than what it has achieved over the past decade or so, in its area of operations. First, it could expand its stated objective of “inclusiveness” by involving a greater number of village womenfolk who are traditionally not part of decision-making in a conservative state such as Gujarat. The women of Kutch are hardy and resilient but do not often voice their opinion in public. There is minimum or negligible participation of women in the affairs of a vandh or village panchayat. Since women often have to “deal” with issues and problems arising out of water shortage at home, including them or making them part of the objective of participatory water management is vital to social development.

Second, the sustainable groundwater management strategy must involve conserving existing resources and in this endeavour Samerth could take steps to ensure that these fresh water resources are free from contamination. At the same time, periodic monitoring of groundwater must be made mandatory. Deeper aquifers should be protected and reserved for drinking water supply needs only.

Third, since Rapar and Bachau blocks are geographically located in the Little and Greater Rann, there has historically been massive ingress of salinity in the soil and groundwater. Therefore, the problem of coastal and soil salinity will require greater attention and a holistic, multi-pronged approach rather simply village specific interventions. Besides, each of the villages that are affected by full salinity, partial salinity and those that are prone to salinity will need different types of interventions. At the same time, Samerth could explore the possibility of encouraging farmers, especially those living in salinity-prone areas, to change their crop pattern or switch to equally remunerative but less water-consuming crops which earlier caused decrease in groundwater levels. This would have the added benefit of preventing seasonal migration out of Rapar and Bachau to other parts of Gujarat.

Since this cannot be achieved single-handedly, Samerth could consider partnering with the state government, research agencies and other organisations involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to make impact in the most vulnerable areas. This could be done by partnering with organisations such as the Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell (CSPC). Samerth may also prefer to engage in imparting training to some of its field coordinators and undertake research and policy advocacy on this grave issue that threatens not just agricultural land but also human subsistence.

Fourth, innovative means of fetching water, such as the use of cost-effective water carriers (for example, the 45-litre plastic carriers manufactured by Maharashtra-based Neelkamal Ltd), could be encouraged among the womenfolk. Samerth project coordinator Ashish Mehta and other field coordinators such as Narsibhai Koli demonstrated the use of such carriers, which do not require much physical exertion, among some villages in Rapar and Bachau and this was welcomed by them, indicating a degree of acceptance. This would significantly reduce drudgery while at the same time save productive hours which the women could then devote to their children.

Samerth has been able to achieve its objective of ensuring participatory water resources management to a considerable extent by enhancing groundwater recharge, implementing low-cost rainwater harvesting systems and structures and reviving traditional storage methods, encouraging judicious use of water for human consumption as well as for agricultural purposes by, wherever possible, optimum use of “command areas” such as canals and ponds. Therefore, fifthly, greater and focused participation with the Gujarat government is essential, especially for ensuring procurement of low-cost technologies, that would go a long way in mitigating water-related hardships of the people, especially those living in the peripheral areas of Rapar and Bachau. This would, needless to say, have a win-win impact for all stakeholders.
Finally, interventions at the community and household levels could be dovetailed with sanitation and hygiene education, especially with the objective that rural communities consume safe drinking water. It is a truism that sanitation and hygiene awareness is directly linked to creation of or setting up sanitation infrastructures, especially across hamlets where there is little or no presence of public health centres (PHCs).
—
Notes
 

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Nature was undiscriminating in the staggering death and devastation she wrought on Gujarat. But as international and national aid pours in, disturbing reports of caste, class and communal bias in its distribution continue to surface. Among other things, this could mean scant attention to the rehabilitation of craftsmen from worst-hit Kutch – a region famed for its rich and vivid handicraft tradition

Devastation, death and despair bring out the best, and the worst, in us. So it has been with Gujarat, a state that symbolises the latest paradigm of modern India — brazen communalism and urbanisation stalking hand–in–hand with aggressive globalisation and depletion of natural resources. The killer earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, which shook the state to its roots, proved to be a brutal leveller. 

Vankars (weavers), ajrak printers, all the Kutchi karigars who’s rich tradition of hand crafts spans weaving, block printing, intricate bandhni leather crafts, metalworking and woodwork, were severed from their livelihoods as much as the flourishing Patel business class. Migrant and landless labourers had their lives snatched away as much as salt pan workers. Among the survivors in urgent need of relief and rehabilitation were Harijans (the scheduled castes among the vankars in Gujarat still refer to themselves as Harijans, instead of Dalit) and Muslims, as much as upper caste Hindus — Rabaris, Darbaris, Bhanushalis, Patels. 

It was a Republic Day that few in Kutch (Bhuj, Anjar, Bhachau), Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Surendranagar and more than 600 villages around are likely to forget. The tremors that reverberated across the state and impacted neighbouring Maharashtra, too, came shortly before 9 am.
The official R–Day functions in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Delhi – chief minister Keshubhai Patel and entourage saluting the tricolour, Gujarat High Court judges feasting on a lavish lunch after the traditional flag hoisting and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his cabinet at the official R–Day parade — continued stoically undisturbed by the crash of cement and concrete until well past mid–day. By then, much of Bhuj, Anjar and Bhachau towns had already been reduced to rubble. Even smaller townships in the Kutch and Saurashtra regions had lost most of the pucca dwellings. 

Today, rough estimates put the loss of life at close to 50,000. Gujarat joins issue and cause with Orissa in the east of the country that suffered a human tragedy of similar proportion when it was devastated by not one, but two, cyclones 18 months ago. In material terms, the loss in Gujarat has been officially computed at over Rs. 20,000 crores.

The sluggishness of government response — epitomised in Doordarshan’s non–acknowledgement of the ‘event’ until 24 hours later — to the sheer scale of the loss in human and material terms is reflective of how distant the State — central and state governments alike — have become from the real concerns and rights of people, the very people from whom they seek legitimacy.  Not only that, arms of the State in India today have distinctly partisan political and economic agendas that violate the core and spirit of Indian democracy and Constitution. It is a factor that influences responses in times of war and peace, disaster and normalcy.

A myriad images spring to mind when we reflect on the past three weeks of media glare – photographs, television images and reams of printed copy. There are the spontaneous stories of human bonding, the instinct and desire to rise above narrow mind–sets. Stray accounts of RSS workers in their khaki shorts and Muslim boys working together for rescue and relief were reported in the first few days after the disaster. Sadly, reports of sectarian mind-sets prevailing over common pain and suffering followed. Which are the ones that shall endure?

Republic Day 2001 was a Friday. A call was given through the khutba (sermon after Friday’s Juma namaaz) at the Al Fazal Mosque in the Juhapura area in the outskirts of the old city of Ahmedabad that all help should be rendered to the needy as speedily as possible. Even before the call from the mosque, 15–20 Muslim boys had rushed to the neighbouring Hindu–dominated Vejalpur locality in their bid to rescue the occupants of the Shiv Society apartments that had collapsed.

Days later, a spontaneous procession of a few hundred Muslim women dressed in burkhas, walked the streets of Ahmedabad — a city scarred by the wounds of otherness and division — praying to Allah to bring succour to Gujarat, a state affected by tragedy once too often. The march moved ordinary Ahmedabadis to tears.

However, after the initial days of such spontaneous display of undiscriminating solidarity in the face of unprecedented human tragedy, Communalism Combat began receiving complaints (from different parts of Gujarat) of exclusion from relief by marginalised sections, areas and populations. The caste–based marginalisation excluded traditional karigars and artisans from the ambit of relief and rehabilitation. And, in tune with the ascendant discourse of Gujarat as the “laboratory for a Hindu rashtra”, discrimination was also influenced by the religion of the affected.  Strange are the ways of seeing. The pall bearers of the Hindu rashtra ideology, that conjures images of military prowess gained through blood–soaked trishul and sets us back by several centuries into rank medieval discourse, has little to offer to the traditional karigars of Kutch. Karigars whose link with the past is so palpable and enduring. 

For example, in the pots crafted by the late master potter Suleimanbhai Mohammad. Or, the famed ajrak print process of the Khatris of Dhamadka. To the national award winner Khatri karigars, Mohammadbhai Siddik and Abdul Razzak goes the credit of reviving the natural dye process that had passed unnoticed to Sindh and Multan and bringing recognition, national and international awards, fashion and tourism to Dhamadka. Glitzy ‘Miss World’ outfits crafted in bandhni (tye and dye), in a technique so fine, are also notched to the credit of Ali Mohammad Isha from the region. Pooplibehn of Dhordo is another name recalled and remembered as a bandhni karigar of the highest calibre.

Hajaram is an upstart ajrak painter whose natural inclination for colour and blocks led him to acquire the technique of the famous ajrak printing from the local Khatris of the famed Dhamadka, 54 kilometres from Bhuj. Even before the devastation wrought by the earthquake, his village, like scores others in Kutch, had been reeling under a two–year–old drought, forcing people to buy food from the market, a practice alien to them. 

Today, Hajaram is a survivor of the quake that has left him bereft of five close family members. His workshop and home are badly damaged. Dazed and disoriented with the loss of family, home and workplace, he is busy trying to rebuild his own life and that of 150 other similarly affected families. 
Everything is under rubble. No heavy machinery has been brought to clear the debris. Dhamadka is on the international map thanks to the ajrak printers. But, today, no attention is being paid to the vibrant karigars who have brought the region fame and richness. 

Dhamadka and Anjar also suffered a quake in 1956; in 1912, too, the region was affected by a seismic shock. Nature, as the karigars, the landless labourers, the fishermen and women of Kutch know it, has rarely been kind to this stark region. In such an environment has sprouted the rich, philosophic, fiercely independent and enterprising Kutchi character.

Hajaram, Ghulam Hussain Oomer, Zakaria-bhai, Rameshbhai Savani, Vankar Premji Velji, are names that today represent the timeless crafts of the Kutch region, reflective of Kutchi khumari, of pride laced with self–respect. This karigar community, comprising of Muslims, Harijans and Hindus dotting the Kutch landscape, has remained marginalised from both relief and rehabilitation. Villages like Manpar, Adoi and Chaubari and 170 more around Bhuj are reduced to material nothingness, will schemes for rehabilitation allow the re-birth of these since they are home to vibrant local populations?

Emotional succour and limited support has come from some individuals and institutions associated with and interested in the crafts and culture of the region. These include Shrujan, an enterprise that supports design and craft in many villages run by Chandabehn Shroff. Sohan, a co–operative handicrafts enterprise linked for over four decades to the region with Prabhabehn Shah and Malti Jhaveri ‘in charge, is also attempting need-based assistance. Reeth with Anela Jasuja and Kalashetra with Judy Frater — a foreigner who has made Kutch her home — are other organisations in Mumbai trying to intervene sensitively. 

Meanwhile, the karigar communities have quickly gone about finding their own solutions. Ramesh Savani, is a karigar in batik from Mandvi that fortunately escaped the worst. But that has not made Savani complacent. He has been busy trying to help Hajaram and the Khatris from Dhamadka who have suffered the worst.

If Kutchi karigars are completely sidelined with little attention being paid to the revival and rehabilitation of their rich and enduring crafts tradition, there are increasing complaints from other parts of the state, too — especially Saurashtra (Morbi near Rajkot) and Surendranagar districts — of bias against minority sections in relief distribution and worse. 

“At a time like this, everything and everyone should transcend prejudices and narrow mind–sets. But in Gujarat today, these prejudices are fanned officially”.

Activists of the VHP and RSS have allegedly been insisting that irrespective of their religion, all must chant ‘Jai Sri Ram’ before they are given food at the relief camps. Both the VHP and the RSS have hotly denied the latter charge. Meanwhile, Communalism Combat has independently been receiving complaints of blatant bias being displayed by some Gujarat ministers, like Fakirbhai Vaghela, in the distribution of tents and cash doles. 

(The Gujarat government last week announced a cash compensation of Rs. 1,00,000 per deceased to surviving family members. In case of the surviving families of the nearly 400 school children from Anjar who died while participating in a Republic Day parade, the compensation amount has been increased to Rs 1,10,000 per death, since the children died while on ‘patriotic duty’).

When Vaghela, the minister for social welfare in the state cabinet, toured his constituency — in Surendranagar district bordering Kutch — on February 3, he crudely ignored Muslim–dominated areas. As we go to press, nearly three weeks after the killer quake, thousands remain subjected to the vagaries of bitter cold. Vaghela is accused by local residents of insisting that the RSS get credit for the material distributed in relief. He was also reportedly angered to find local residents having started medical relief operations cutting across community. He allegedly stopped them from doing so and took charge of the civil hospital forcibly. Hindu and Muslim residents thereafter have submitted a joint memorandum to the local mamlatdar urging that at times of crises the administration should work to unite and not divide people. 

Surendra Vanrajsingh Jala, from Kherali village in the Surendranagar district (located in Vaghela’s assembly constituency), spoke with anguish to CC, about the hoarding of relief materials and the fact that ‘backwards’ and Muslims were not being given relief. “The maximum damage from the region has been in Paldi and Halvat. Citizens of the town, from all communities, have been united in their protest against the minister’s attempts to divide people on the basis of religion. Villagers have made representations in this connection to the collector and to the chief minister and home minister protesting against this attitude.” 

Jala also revealed that in neighbouring Watwan, also in Surendranagar and the constituency of BJP MLA Dhanraj Kela, locals had looted the godown where relief materials had been hoarded at night instead of being distributed to legitimate claimants.

“For the past two weeks we residents of Dasada have been told that tents have been distributed,” complains Aslam Malik, a member of the Lok Janshakti party, “but we have not received a single tent and women and children are still sleeping out in the open.” 

Concurs Anwarbhai Pathan, a resident of Paldi: “So much relief material has been diversified or dispersed through the RSS–controlled bajaar samitis. Odhu village is nearly finished, all homes damaged, people are still sleeping out in the open. Members of the RSS, like Rashmibhai Rawal, Dilipbhai Khejadia, Bharat Painter, Vanvaji Thakore are being favoured with relief material that does not, then, reach anywhere else.”

The writ that the RSS and VHP over the state administration can be gauged from their ability to influence scrutiny of accusations of discrimination at the very highest level. The governor of Gujarat, Sundersinh Bhandari was scheduled to visit  Surendranagar following reports of discrimination, especially in Dasada, on February 19. Pressure from the RSS and Vaghela compelled him, at the last moment to cancel the visit, reliable local sources informed CC.

While CK Koshy, relief commissioner of Gujarat was unavailable for comment, PN Roy, in charge of relief operations at Anjar — one of the worst affected towns — categorically repudiated such allegations, at least in Anjar where he has been in charge. “There have never been allegations, now or ever, of the IAS being communal. Rest assured, we have taken extra care to ensure that distribution and responsibility is handled only by organisations with unimpeachable credentials. We will not let people be discriminated against,” he told Communalism Combat. 

On the day CC spoke to Roy, he had been honoured with an international award for his efforts, by an American relief agency. The citation praises Roy’s efforts for ‘excellence in International Major Disaster Management.’

“As in wars laws do not remain silent, so too in calamities and at times of crises, laws in general and constitutional rights, human rights and humanity cannot remain silent,” Girishbhai Patel, of Lok Adhikar Sangh told Communalism Combat. “We, too, have received complaints of caste– and community–based discrimination which we are looking into, case by case. But we can expect the worst from this government that is a victim of its own mindset.”

The present BJP government came to power in March 1998, publicly touting its Hindu rashtra agenda. On April 15–16, 1998, barely a month after chief minister Keshubhai Patel took the constitutional oath, the first attack on churches and Christians began. Three months later, Muslims in rural and semi–rural areas of Randhikpur and Sanjeli were targeted. 

In between, in June 1998 came the first killer cyclone that not only cost the Kandla region 10,000 lives, but also left the central government–run Kandla Port Trust squabbling with the state government on the crucial issue of relief and rehabilitation. Even then, within just a few months of saffron–hued governance in the state, there were detailed accounts of Muslim fishermen and migrant saltpan workers suffering from discrimination and bias. An official report by the Kandla Port Trust brought out recently, evaluating the proposed rehabilitation of 3,500 homes reveals that two–and–a–half years later, not more than 20 homes have been built! 

The Kandla cyclone, like the Gujarat earthquake, had raised serious questions of inept disaster management. Then, too, the Lok Adhikar Sangh had petitioned the court pointing out the total incompetence of the state government, despite scientific warnings, in dealing with natural calamities. “The government, instead of responding to the questions that had been raised, replied with reams of computer paper,” says Patel. Despite being a pioneer of public–spirited litigation, he has not gone to court this time. “I have lost complete faith in the judiciary. The two–year–old petition would have been relevant today. But what have the courts done to expedite its hearing? It is still pending. We had asked why the control rooms were inadequately staffed, why the staff that was there was not trained to handle proper co–ordination. What did we get in reply? Accusations and counter accusations between the Kandla Port Trust and the state government!”

Father Cedric Prakash of the Ahmedabad–based St Xaviers Social Service Society, a resident of Gujarat for 23 years, has been active in relief and rehabilitation work through many of these tragedies. The day after the earthquake, RSS volunteers physically stopped him from entering a building in Ahmedabad where people were trapped. Initial consignments of official aid, valued at a few million dollars, have been rooted through the St. Xaviers Society and Jan Vikas Collective along with some other NGOs. Their efforts at distribution of the material, that included heavy military tents etc. was acknowledged in a letter from the US ambassador, Richard F Celeste. 

Says father Prakash, “Look, caste discrimination is there everywhere. But what are the kinds of signals that come from the top? At a time like this, everything and everyone should transcend prejudices and narrow mind–sets. But in Gujarat today, these prejudices are fanned officially. While many people are bravely trying to transcend the confines of religion, here are organisations actually fanning differences with the blessings of the state.”
The Delhi–based All India Milli Council has also set up four camps in Gujarat to provide relief ad rehabilitation. In its initial report, it also made mention of bias in reaching of relief to survivors in Gujarat. However, while addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad on February 16, the group made a clear distinction between representatives of the RSS and VHP and ordinary Hindus who felt angered by the politicisation of relief operations.
Giving an example of attempts to make Muslims chant ‘Jai Sri Ram’ before being given food at a relief centre in the Kutch region, representatives of the Council told the media that many Hindu survivors in the camps also refused the offer of food in protest against this kind of coercion. 

Alongside communal bias, the scenario in Gujarat post–earthquake has revealed sharp and visible caste–based discrimination and prejudice. Tikar, a badly affected village in Surendranagar district happens to be the home of the brother of Sam Pitroda. When he arrived there in early February to convey his offer to re–construct the whole village, the Patels bluntly told him that while re–building the village, caste distinction would have to be strictly followed! This means that Dalits would continue to be discriminated against, continue to be subjected to the practice of untouchability and denied common and equal access to water and grazing lands.

Adhoi village, also in Surendranagar district, is also witnessing similar schisms. Valjibhai Patel, Council for Social Justice, told Communalism Combat that his organisation is co–ordinating relief effort in 90–100 camps in the district with no help from outside. The extent of caste prejudice has forced his organisation to approach the Gujarat High Court with a public interest petition. 

The governor of Gujarat, Sundersinh Bhandari was scheduled to visit  Surendranagar following reports of discrimination, especially in Dasada, on February 19. But pressure from the RSS and Vaghela compelled him, at the last moment, to cancel the visit.

“We have already collected affidavits from Dalit women from the village who have testified to the organisation of food and other rehabilitation items on a caste–wise and discriminatory basis. Even temporary shelters are being constructed on caste lines. Our plea to the court is that whenever re-built, an ideal village should emerge here within which Dalits, Muslims and Hindus intermingle and live together, not separated by discrimination.”

Serious questions about human rights issues in the context of a natural calamity have surfaced in the wake of the quake. What is the responsibility of the government towards human lives in terms of disaster management? That is, its response to warning signals of impending disasters. Also in the norms that it does or does not set for the powerful construction lobby that stands exposed for criminal and negligent conduct in Ahmedabad and Bhuj — especially in urban construction. Will the guilty builders of Ahmedabad and Bhuj be punished? There were huge individual investments made in the buildings that have collapsed. Who will bear the tab of compensation? 

Like Valjibhai’s petition, two other citizens’ interventions in court seek greater transparency and accountability from government. The first, filed by former chief justice of Gujarat High Court, Justice Bipinchandra Divan and other prominent citizens of Gujarat, has demanded accountability from government in the distribution of aid. On February 17, 2001 this PIL achieved success with Justice Dharmadhikari passing a pathbreaking order giving the reliefs that the petitioners had sought: all money received in aid would be put in a separate account (so as not to be diverted for purposes other than relief and rehab of survivors) and a district judge would monitor disbursal at every stage. 

International and national aid for Gujarat, from foreign governments, UN agencies and independent organisations, has been enormous. “If fairly distributed, aid can comfortably look after all the affected survivors of Gujarat for a year, but it is just not being distributed well,” says Martin Macwan, a leading rights activist who heads the Ahmedabad–based Navsarjan. 

Another petition filed by senior advocate Haroobhai Mehta on behalf of SAMVAD seeks criminal action against 55 builders named by aggrieved persons in private complaints filed in Ahmedabad. Some groups are also contemplating filing yet another PIL on the question of increasing and visible bias in the disbursal of relief.
Says Mehta: “Serious human rights issues have arisen after the calamity. The right to life is a guaranteed right. This means that the right to be rescued efficiently and quickly is itself the right of every human being. Chief minister Keshubhai Patel and home minister Haren Pandya have themselves admitted that one whole day lost was lost; the rescue actually started on the second day. For 24 hours there was nothing. Who will bear this responsibility? Even today the debris has not been cleared. Bhachau is still buried under cement and concrete rubble. It will be months before it is cleared.”

Inept governance that inspires little confidence, be it for the relatively privileged urban middle class or the utterly marginalised sections of quake-hit Gujarat, and a prejudicial mind–set sum up the response of the present political leadership to the calamity. 

“Immediate relief and supplies through official channels has been influenced by political considerations, the mainline versus interior bias and the poverty–caste–religion ratio,” says Macwan. Interestingly, the vocal voluntary and non–governmental sector that is always at the receiving end of governmental and administrative wrath, was open enough to work with any and all groups, until increasing reports of exclusion and bias began creeping in. The sheer scale of the tragedy that left none untouched governed this maturity. 

But was this approach rewarded? Says Macwan, “Above all, the mind-set of the present political dispensation shows up in nonsensical ways. At a recent meeting at the chief minister’s house where I was present, the general secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad espoused the setting up of spiritual centres as part of their rehabilitation package! Now, this is really angering. Are we thinking of religion, or food? There are people who are still living out in the open after 21 days. 

“The fact that this mind–set can surface even at a time of a tragedy of the grossest magnitude, reflects the nuisance value of this ideology and mind–set. We have been part of different non–governmental and voluntary associations like the Janpath Initiative and the KMVS. We have in the past put aside ideological differences. This time, too, that was our approach. “Even now we feel that we should strive to look at everything as a basic human rights issue. There is the crucial question of rehabilitation. Government figures put the total loss at around Rs. 20,000 crore. The last cyclone had caused losses worth Rs. 10,000 crores. How are the people of Gujarat going to cope?

“If the RSS has a plan of rehabilitation totalling Rs. 15,000 crores, let them do it. We will be with them. But let a concrete plan emerge. And all we say is that everyone must benefit from the rehabilitation package. There must not only be a policy of equality but also an aim of social equity. Creating conditions of equity means accepting that gross inequity prevails. The question is, do they have the strength to go beyond their mind–set?” 

Hindus sweep Masjid before handing it to Muslims
Agencies/Ahmedabad

Overwhelmed by the gesture shown by Muslims in providing succour to the quake–hit people of Gujarat, Hindus swept and scoured a Shahi Masjid and invited them to offer namaaz at the place of worship, situated in the communally sensitive Khadia area of the city.
Earlier, Muslims were scared of going to the mosque because of the area’s long–history of communal riots, said Amjad Ali Rajput, Rajpur ward chief of BJP’s minority cell here Thursday.
“However, the good Samaritan job done by Muslims in providing all possible help to their Hindu brethren had an impact and the Hindus of the locality on Sunday washed and cleaned the mosque before inviting us to offer prayers,” he said. 
Since then Muslims have been offering prayers at the Khadia Shahi masjid five times a day without any hesitation or fear, Amjad said.

‘BJP govt wants RSS, VHP to get all the credit’

Girishbhai Patel
Lok Adhikar Sangh
Ahmedabad

It is a clear–cut strategy of the BJP that, at the cost of it’s own reputation, the government machinery should not work but the VHP and RSS should get credit for any relief and rehabilitation. Gujarat is crying for a different kind of leadership that can respond to the assaults by communalism and globalisation. Congress does not have people of vision and the BJP has no people, it has only mobs.
This government is functioning like a religious organisation. I am sure that large numbers of temples will come up in reconstruction!
Medha Patkar and myself have surveyed the situation. We feel that there is a surfeit of relief. But instead of awakening a scientific spirit among people, except for some established NGOs, relief is being distributed mostly by the RSS and the VHP and the Jamaat–e–Islami. In many villages, the Sai Baba Samiti and other religious and sectarian organisations have reached.
The real problem is going to be of reconstruction. To this end, some of us (Medha Patkar, Justice Ravani and myself) have made a public appeal: Let us seize this opportunity to reconstruct villages in a way that they become self–sustainable villages, in a way that they reflect the traditional framework, while not perpetuating the tradition–based caste discriminations. Let us not rely on corporate structure. We need to show vision and courage on the caste question, we cannot perpetuate discrimination.
We are privileged by a sharp constitutional vision on the question of equity, social justice and non–discrimination. We must not replicate the past.
This tragedy also brings into sharp focus the consequences of the new development paradigm that we have so blindly adopted. In Gujarat, we have had two cyclones, persistent drought. And yet, those who make decisions on our behalf do so at the cost of lives and resources. How do we build up an economy that does not cause so much damage to the people?

‘We don’t know when government help will come; we have to help ourselves’

Ramesh Savani
‘Batik’ craftsman
Mandvi, Kutch

“What is needed most is chappars, for temporary houses. Mandvi was spared but Dhamadka, Kothdi village, and similarly Daneti, Dudhai, Chobari are completely and severely damaged. We have just been to Bhavnagar and surveyed the ship-breaking yard and the scrap there. The malba (scrap) contains sheets of ply and other material that are lightweight yet durable, useful for our homes. We are planning to buy these in bulk, hire a lorry and take them to Dhamadka for our craftsmen, the Khatris and Hajaram. We don’t know when government help will come. We have to help ourselves. Our women and children are suffering sleeping out in the cold, how long can they do so? ”

‘Even three weeks after the damage we have received no relief’

Devji Premji
Vankar, Harijan 
Bhujodi village, Kutch

“Though our village is only nine kilometres away from Bhuj proper, even three weeks after the damage we have received no relief and only one visit from the Sai Baba Samiti. There are 200 vankars in the village. Seven or eight lives have been lost and nearly 30–40 per cent of the looms has been damaged. Ours is a total population of about 3,300; we have 1,900 Rabaris and 1,300 vankars. We need talpatris (covers for roofs) but not made of plastic as they melt in our heat, and columns made of material that do not attract white ants!”
‘The mamlatdar is selectively disbursing relief material only to the RSS and VHP’ Aslam Malik
Social worker Dasada, Surendranagar “We have completed a survey of 15 villages including Dasada, Vanod, Adhiraniya, Dhama, Jejuwada, Jenabad, Odhu and Patdi (a township of 20,000). This area is also within the constituency of an MLA and a minister hence the anger of people is palpable. It is the same story everywhere. These are villages dominated by Muslims and Dalits. Patdi is barely 90 kilometres from Ahmedabad; but the mamlatdar is selectively disbursing relief material only to the RSS and VHP. In Patdi, the mamlatdar goes on saying that 150 tents have been distributed, the collector dishes out a figure of 3,500. But where have the tents gone? They have not reached the people.  Locals have demanded a survey by the executive magistrate — the 92 villages under him should be visited. Where are the 5,000 that have been sent to the district collector, news of which has appeared from official sources in the press?”

‘The Muslim fisherfolk and Harijans from the Rann of Kutch have no one to help them’

Fr Cedric Prakash
St Xaviers Social Service Society
Ahmedabad

“Our team is also discovering villages which are out of the pale of relief, where people are still outside in the open. These are in the Rann of Kutch, the Nalya and Lakhpat villages. These villages have Rabaris, Darbars and Muslim populations. Now some influential communities like Darbars have connections outside. The Bhanushali community has samajs in Mumbai, they can garner help. But the Muslim Kolis (fisherfolk) and Harijans have no one to help them. Now, how has the RSS helped here? They have taken up one solitary village consisting of 350 people to concentrate on; this village has mainly Darbar families whom they want to help!” 

‘There are complaints that in common langars, Dalits and Muslims were asked to stand last’

Haroobhai Mehta
Senior advocate
Ahmedabad

“A general bias is visible. Maliya town near Morbi in Rajkot has a 60 per cent Muslims population, so here the government moved slowly. We have also received complaints that in common langars, Dalits and Muslims were asked to stand last. There was another example of the Mudra Masjid in Kutch district where Muslims who were receiving aid from the administration were physically stopped by the RSS and the VHP. There have also been reports of relief being diverted to trucks with the BJP Lotus or the RSS emblem. The whole issue is also of the reconstruction model which should not hurt the cultural setting and milieu of the people. But at the moment the whole situation is completely anarchic.”

‘The BJP government is blatantly in favour of the privileged sections’

Valjibhai Patel
Council for Social Justice
Ahmedabad

“In Adhoi village in Surendranagar, 80 per cent of the pucca houses were destroyed; 20 Dalits died as did some Kolis and Muslims. The Patels who are very prosperous have rehabilitated themselves on the other side of the highway and called the new settlement Udaipur. But there has been not even any elementary relief for the more marginalised sections. No tents have been received; people are still sleeping out in the cold. 
The Patels want the Dalits out. Why? The Dalits are living on good fertile land. The Patels are eyeing this land.
Our PIL will be filed in a few days. We want the court to apply the Indian Constitution in directing that in official rehabilitation efforts, an ideal village gets created. 
The BJP government is blatantly in favour of the privileged sections. The chief minister made a statement that was reported in the Sandesh (February 14) saying that those with more land and who own dairy cattle deserve more spacious home and land in rehabilitation schemes. A rehabilitation packet announced by the government gives 35,000 each under the Sardar Awaz Yojana for slum dwellers to rebuild homes, while big bungalow owners have been given Rs. 100,000 without interest!” 

Archived from Communalism Combat, February 2001 Year 8  No. 66, Cover Story 1

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The people of Gujarat, especially Kutch and Saurashtra, have been victim to a relent
 less cycle of natural disasters: two cyclones, in 1998 and 1999, coupled with two successive years of drought. The present earthquake was of unprecedented intensity and the tragedy has raised legitimate questions about the quality and efficacy of government response related to disaster management.  A significant aspect of disaster management relates to responses to warnings of imminent disasters. 

Reports compiled by the Earthquake Affected Relief and Rehabilitation Services (EARRS), Ahmedabad indicate that several such signals that even appeared in the media four months ago, were ignored

Reports from newspapers of Sept. 2000:

Major quake may follow Bhavnagar tremor: Expert 
(PTI) 18 Sept. 2000, The Times of India

MUMBAI: The large number of tremors being felt in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat “may be indications of a possible major earthquake”, according to an eminent geologist. The 11 tremors in five hours on September 12 could be foreshocks which normally precede a major earthquake just as it happened in Killari in Maharashtra on September 30, 1993, said Dr V Subramanyan while delivering a lecture on “Seismic scenario around Mumbai” at the Indian Institute of Geo–magnetism here during the weekend. 

Bhavnagar is geologically identical to Mumbai and both fall under earthquake zone III where quakes of magnitude up to 6.5 were possible, he said. 
The district lies along the Gulf of Khambat which is near Narmada faults, well near Satranj river basin. Subramanyan, currently project advisor of department of earth sciences in IIT Mumbai, said normally the faults, lying quiet for some time, get reactivated suddenly and act as the route for the release of stored pressures. 

Appreciating the Gujarat government’s effort at assessing the strength of the existing buildings and planning to adopt appropriate building technology, he said such studies should be done systematically for posterity since “we have to live with the earthquakes”. Scientific studies have helped to demarcate possible seismic zones through integrated geological and geophysical investigations, he said, adding, “the only thing which can be attempted in seismic zones is to go in for appropriate construction using the right designs for different types of buildings, warehouses, power reactors and dams”. Talking about prediction and prevention of earthquakes, Subramanyan said the scientific community was still not in a position to predict earthquakes. 

“It is because there are many factors we do not know, like the depths where the pressures build up, for how long they accumulate before getting relieved through earthquakes and where the pressure is built”. 

Earthquakes are brought about by the sudden release of pressures that have been accumulating for a long time inside the earth just like a pressure cooker, he said. Rocks are strong to withstand such pressures for quite some time, but when the accumulating stress exceeds ultimate bearing capacity, then they break by developing “fault” planes — which are actually cracks through which the accumulated pressure is released suddenly generating an earthquake which normally does not last longer than 15 seconds. 

Killer quake feared in Gujarat district 
Thursday 14 September 2000, The Times of India
GANDHINAGAR: Three more mild tremors kept people awake all night in Bhavnagar district as the government prepared on Wednesday to meet any emergency situation in the coastal region sitting on a seismically active faultline. More than 30 mild tremors have been felt in Saurashtra in recent days, raising fears of a major geological activity that could cause death and destruction. 

Experts warned that a ‘’killer earthquake’’ could strike the region anytime as the Bhavnagar–Kodinar faultline seems to have ‘re–activated’. The latest tremors were experienced at around 11.15 pm on Tuesday, and 2.24 am and 6 am on Wednesday. The region was shaken nearly a dozen times on Tuesday.

More than 30 mild tremors have been felt in Saurashtra in recent days, raising fears of a major geological activity that could cause death and destruction.Experts warned that a ‘’killer earthquake’’ could strike the region anytime as the Bhavnagar–Kodinar faultline seems to have ‘re–activated’.
— The Times of India, September 14 , 2000

Three hundred families had been shifted to safer places. Chief minister Keshubhai Patel, in Bhavnagar campaigning for the September 17 civic elections, urged the Centre to rush a team of meteorologists and seismologists to study the phenomenon. Patel also held high–level review meetings of officials here on Wednesday. The state government has sanctioned Rs 50 lakh as contingency relief fund and despatched medical and engineering teams to Bhavnagar. (UNI)
 
Quiet Bhavnagar tremor raises quite a storm: Geologists to study connection with earth-quakes in Turkey, Taiwan
Discussion forum on Local Economy & Politics, 23rd September, 2000 
A team of geologists from Dehradun, Pune and Vadodara will look into whether the tremors felt in Bhavnagar on Tuesday were anyway related to the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Taiwan. 

On the other hand, principal advisor to the chief minister, PK Lehari, said on Wednesday in Gandhinagar that there was no link between the earthquake that occurred in Taiwan and tremors felt in the Bhavnagar district of the state. Mr Lehari said that Bharuch and not Bhavnagar fall in the earthquake zone. 

Bhavnagar experienced slight tremors on Tuesday afternoon at 12.55 pm in an area of 80 sq km reaching up to Bhal Bhatta area in Alang. The tremors in Bhavnagar on Tuesday followed a severe earthquake in Taiwan where more than a thousand people died. Coincidentally, the earthquake in Turkey about one–and–a–half months back was also followed by tremors in the Bhavnagar city. 

Experts from Dehradun, Pune and Vadodra will also locate the epicentre of eruption in case the city faces a serious threat of earthquake. According to experts in the seismographic research department of the state, an earthquake is generally followed by slight tremors. No official records were taken one–and–a–half months back when the city experienced similar tremors following the Turkey earthquake. 

Gujarat Engineering Research Institute at Vadodara has also been contacted in this connection. According to the Maritime Board of Alang, the intensity of the tremors was greater at the ocean surface and near seashore areas. Similarly, in Bhavnagar, intensity of the tremors was less in rural areas, as a result of which residents have started shifting to villages. 

However, the Bhavnagar district collector, Mr Rajkumar, who was in Gandhinagar on Tuesday, said normal life was unaffected and also no loss of property was reported. 

Archived from Communalism Combat, February 2001 Year 8  No. 66, Cover Story 2

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