DRINKING WATER CONCERN IN AFFECTED VILLAGE

Noney (Tamenglong), Jan. 5: People residing in and around Nagaching hill in Tamenglong district, the epicentre of the devastating earthquake that jolted Manipur yesterday, grappled with twin fears the day after - a recurrence of the "horror" and landslides.

The tremblor, measuring 6.8 on Richter scale, left six dead and about a hundred people injured. According to reports that have come in so far, nearly 200 buildings have been damaged in the state, including the newly constructed Assembly building in Imphal. Works minister Kh. Ratan Singh inspected the cracks on the building today.

Terrified residents in more than 50 villages within a 10km radius of Nagaching hill (also known as Bakwa), pointed out by experts as the epicentre, and Noney, the only town within that distance, are recovering from the initial shock, resuming their daily chores today.

This correspondent found children dancing and singing in a church as they rehearsed for a children's festival on January 10. But beneath the apparent calm lurks fear.

"We did not sleep last night, fearing aftershocks. This is the worst earthquake I have experienced in my life. I thought we would all die," Gracy Abonmai, 27, a resident of Noney, located about 60km from Imphal, said today. Nagaching is 70km from Imphal.

The residents pointed to the huge cracks that had appeared on the ground and ran through houses and the hilly terrain. "Yesterday, the cracks were small. Today they have widened. We fear that our houses could sink while we sleep," said Salvia Kamson, another girl. A big crack scars the walls and the floor of her house.

Numerous houses located at the epicentre illustrate the wrath of the quake. The floors of many houses have sunk while the walls of many have collapsed. Villagers said 80 per cent of the buildings in Noney, including churches, had developed cracks while 20 per cent had suffered major damages.

Four teenaged boys were injured in Noney as a thick mud wall separating two rooms collapsed on them but no one was injured in the three villages atop Nagaching hill. This is probably because of the mud huts built in the area. The surrounding ground, however, developed cracks.

The immediate concern of the residents include drinking water.

After the tremblor, the ground water turned muddy and is unfit for consumption. The villagers use hand pumps, ponds and springs to get potable water. In one of the villages, a huge crack divided a pond and drained out all its water, rendering it completely dry.

The apprehension of the villagers and residents of Noney, however, does not end here. They are worried that the monsoon, which would arrive in four to five months, might effect a massive landslide, especially as Tamenglong is a landslide-prone area.

"When the rainwater enters the cracks, it can set off a massive landslide. In that case, all our houses would be swept away," Dingang Kamson, a villager, said.

A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which arrived in Noney yesterday, surveyed the areas surrounding the epicentre today but no government machinery has yet reached the area for relief work. NDRF experts will also assess the safety of partially damaged public buildings in other parts of the state and advise the state government on issues related to repair and retrofitting of these buildings.

An NDRF statement issued in Guwahati said their personnel today started search and rescue operations in the earthquake-affected areas of Manipur and Assam, such as Luwang Sangbam in Imphal East district, Noney in Tamenglong district and Silchar in Assam, using modern search equipment such as victim locating camera, life detectors and specially trained sniffer dogs.

They also carried out assessment of damaged buildings. BJP legislator Thongam Biswajit Singh toured Noney today to assess the damages. He provided relief materials and financial assistance to repair churches and houses.

A seven-member medical team from AIIMS, New Delhi, including orthopaedists, surgeons and anaesthesiologist, arrived in Imphal today to join relief operations in the earthquake-affected areas.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has started a toll-free 24x7 helpline (011-1078). A three-member team from Power Grid Corporation of India Limited is in the state to assist restoration of power supply. A senior official from BSNL has also reached Imphal to take stock of the partial damage to the telecommunication company's building and to advise on steps that need to be taken to ensure the safety and continuity of telecom services.

Official sources said Union cabinet secretary P.K. Sinha chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee in New Delhi to take stock of the relief operations in Manipur. State chief secretary O. Nabakishore participated in the meeting through video-conferencing.

Additional reporting by our Guwahati Bureau