Earthquake in Gujarat - Update 40

Bhavnagar, Saturday 10 November 2001

Early yesterday morning, I took a walk around Mariya. The town has been cleared of debris, shops seemed to be bustling, there also seemed to be many repaired or newly built houses.

At 10 am I left for Bhavnagar, a 5 hour drive away.

In Bhavnagar, in the evening, I had a meeting with the President and councillors of Council of Gujarat. We discussed:

MULLA ASGHAR MEMORIAL CAMPUS, BHAVNAGAR

We then reviewed the draft master plan of the campus in global terms. The architect was also present. The campus will have: an IT Centre, a Nursery School, a Primary School, a Secondary School, a Higher Secondary School, an Administration Centre, Teachers' Quarters, a Hostel for Boys, a Canteen, separate playing fields for boys and girls, a Clinic, a Library and a
Mosque.

This morning I visited the site of the campus. It is a good flat piece of land of about 33,000 sq yds. A sports complex, the Engineering College and some other faculties of the University are near by. About 150 families of our community live about 1.5 km away.

We then visited Sardar Patel school near by. This is a similar complex to ours, is well run and has excellent buildings and facilities.

We also visited the Al Mahdi School which at present is in temporary accommodation. It was started in 1997. A new class with staff are added every year. At present it has 6 classes (Lower KG, Upper KG and standards 1,2,3 and 4. Because of lack of space, 3 classes are run in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. There is no room to start class 5 next year. So the campus needs to be up and running before the start of the next academic year.

This afternoon there is Samuh Lagna in Kodinar (3 hours drive away) and tomorrow there is one in Talaja (1 hours drive away) - both organised by the Council of Gujarat. Unfortunately I can not attend either because I need to concentrate on the campus project.

I spent the whole day up to midnight, with different trustees discussing the campus and trying to freeze ideas. It was agreed that while the whole campus will be called 'Mulla Asghar Memorial Campus', each of the educational institution will be named after our Imam - Al Mahdi Nursery School, Al Mahdi IT Centre, Al Mahdi Primary School, Al Mahdi Library etc. The trustees are
also to finalize a logo and a motto.

In the evening I met with the trustees and workers of Hussaini Education and Welfare Society and discussed with them their activities - ZCSS, madressa etc.

Alhamdulillah we have a good team in Bhavnagar, looking after the educational requirements of the children of the community. May Allah give them Tawfeeq to continue, Aameen

In the morning I will be flying to Mumbai and on to London. Inshallah in a few days time, I shall post on this site the latest photographs for you to be updated.

Earthquake in Gujarat - Update 39

Mariya, Thursday 8 November 2001

I left Bhuj at 9 am for the 3.5 hours drive to Mariya. The office bearers of the Jamaat were waiting for me at the Mosque complex. The Imambara, whose roof had collapsed, has been repaired. Minor work is pending. The Madressa building whose first floor had collapsed, has now been repaired as a ground floor building only. The compound has been cleared of debris and all out buildings have been repaired. The Mosque has been cleaned and is awaiting repairs/renovation.

After lunch, we went to Morbi, a drive of one hour. I inspected the 3600 sq yd land which has been bought to house the mumineen of Mariya, complete with Mosque, Imambara etc. The land is in quite a good location and is well situated. Construction will Inshallah start as soon as the necessary papers are received from the city authorities regarding change of use.

From Morbi, we came back to Mariya soon after Maghrib. The mumineen of Mariya seem well settled in their businesses and homes. The houses have been repaired, while quite a few have rebuilt their homes.

At night we had a general meeting, where I explained the phase 4 housing loan scheme. It was well received. 

We also discussed the business loan scheme. The maximum of INR 100,000 is well below the expectations of the mumineen of Mariya. They did however decide to reapply for the business loans and work within the constraints of the scheme.

Earthquake in Gujarat - Update 38

Bhuj, 7 November 2001

I spent today in Bhuj. I went to see the old city. Most of the rubble has been cleared. Access is now easy. Plot boundaries have however been lost and with all the demolition which took place, and vast open spaces which now exist, people are finding it difficult to orientate themselves.

Our Mosque is still standing, a sorrowful site, damaged beyond repair. All the surrounding structures have been cleared. The Jamaat is building a small temporary (blockwork) hall on the Imambara site to house the Zari and to be available for namaz and majlis. They also intend to put up a temporary fence around the whole site, so the site is safe and there is no encroachment.

We visited the old Imambara site. The site has been mostly cleared. Again the Jamaat intends to put up a temporary boundary fence to demarcate and protect the site.

In the afternoon, we had a meeting of Kutch Federation. The meeting was held in the temporary office of the Federation at the Al Mahdi Society in Bhuj. We had a fruitful meeting and discussed:

- ZCSS
- Higher Education Loans
- Financial assistance for Medical cases
- Aalim Grant
- Madressa affairs
- setting up of an efficient office of Kutch Federation
- Financial assistance to the poor.

At night, we had a meeting of the Bhuj Jamaat managing committee to tie up all the lose ends.

Earthquake in Gujarat - Update 37

Kera, Tuesday 6 November 2001

I spent this morning in Government offices in Bhuj. 

I first went to Abhiyan, a Kutch based NGO to see if they had any new reports. I met the staff whom I knew from my previous visits. 

I then went to the massive temporary shed put up by the Bhuj Development Corporation. In this shed, are displayed drawings of the proposed master plan for Bhuj. The young staff were excellent and knew their stuff. The city and surrounding suburbs have been divided into different residential, commercial and industrial zones. There is also a new network of wide roads. I was 
pleased to note:

• The old Imambara property is not affected.

• The present Mosque, Imambara property is also not affected. A major road however passes next to it, so access will be quite easy.

• The road next to the Al Mahdi Society housing where our community is housed 
  temporarily has been upgraded to a major road. This will thus be very convenient for the mumineen.

At 4 pm I left for Kera, a 30 min drive from Bhuj. There I met Al Haj Rajabalibhai, the Chairman of Kera Jamaat. 

He told me that those who needed temporary housing have been accommodated with the donations from Sajjadiyya Trust. We discussed the requirements of business loans. 

I also explained the phase four scheme:

• regarding loans available for those who want to rebuild their own homes

• and funds available for the Jamaat to build homes for those who used to 
  live in rented properties.

I inspected the new Imambara, which is now in the final stages of finishing.

We also discussed the the rebuilding of the Mosque, Madressa and other buildings in the compound.

I was back in Bhuj at 11.30 pm - early for a change.

Earthquake in Gujarat - Update 36

Mundra, Monday 5 November 2001

Having spent the night in one of the temporary house at the Al Mahdi Society in Bhuj, I left for Mundra at 10 am this morning - a drive of two hours. (I returned at 1.30 am). I went straight to the shop of Al Haj Akberali Mawjee, the Chairman of Mundra Jamaat. We discussed the requirements of the Jamaat regarding business loans and permanent housing. After lunch, we went to Mundra (see report below) and came back to Mundra at 7 pm.

Akberbhai requested for business loans for members of Mundra Jamaat. He stated that the families who needed to be housed in temporary housing have been housed with the help of Sajjadiyya Trust. I visited these temporary homes late at night before leaving for Bhuj. The new Mosque Construction has restarted with generous donations direct to Mundra Jamaat. Regarding the rest of the permanent structures, we agreed the following:

• The damaged first floor of Husaini Madressa has been taken down. The ground floor is being used. Mundra Jamaat will finalise the drawings and will send them with the estimates to The World Federation. 

• The Kabrastan Mosque has collapsed. It is used for Namaz-e-Mayyit, Majlis and Namaz. The Jamaat will finalise the drawings and will send them with the estimates to the World Federation.

• The Jamaat owns two buildings known as the Musafirkhana buildings. These have collapsed. The Jamaat will finalise drawings for 8 dwellings on these two properties and will send them to the World Federation with the estimates. These dwellings will be used to rehouse the 7 families who used to live in rented accommodation and who have lost their homes.

• There are 8 families who own their own properties which have collapsed. They may like to rebuild them with loans as per the phase 4 scheme of the World Federation. I met three of them. They were all pleased with the scheme, one has already submitted all the paperwork as his house is under construction with Bank loans. Akberbhai will meet the rest.

Mandvi, Monday 5 November 2001

After lunch in Mundra, Akberbhai (chairman of Kutch Federation) and I left for Mandvi, a drive of one hour. Mandvi has a very small population of our community - 9 men, 14 women, 10 boys, 5 girls, and 4 university students. After saying prayers in the Mosque, I inspected it. The roof of the Mosque is tiled and has been leaking for some time now. It can however be repaired quite 
simply. The roof of the Sahan, is concrete and has therefore done quite a bit of damage to the walls of the Sahan during the earthquake. It will be best to demolish the Sahan roof and walls. The Mosque walls have cracked slightly. These are repairable.

While in Mandvi, I also had a long discussion with Liyakatbhai Bhimani regarding the quality of education of our children in Kutch. He is the principal of an excellent local school.

From Mandvi, we went back to Mundra, arriving there after Maghrib. 

Earthquake in Gujarat - Update 35

Nagalpur, Sunday 4 November 2001

I left Bhuj at 9.30 am for the one hour drive to Nagalpur and returned back at 12.30 am. When I arrived in Nagalpur, the office bearers were already waiting for me in the Mosque. I inspected the moulana's flat and the temporary ladies and gents halls under construction. These will be used for a couple of years or so while the Mosque / Imambara are being repaired / reconstructed. The construction of these structures are of semi permanent nature. When they are no longer required to be used as temporary halls, they will be renovated and upgraded to provide classrooms for madressa, tuition classes, computer classes, sewing classes etc. With this long term usage in 
mind, we decided to immediately improve the quality of design and construction which will take the expenses above the original agreed and approved budget.

We then inspected the Mosque and Imambara. The ravages of the continual aftershocks are apparent - cracks which I had inspected a few months ago have got larger and more lose masonry have fallen off. 

We then agreed on the brief for construction of the permanent facilities


The Mosque

The Mosque will be of the same size (for about 90 Namazies) and a cheaper of 
the following two alternatives will be carried out:

• The concrete roof is intact (it was the main culprit for the destruction of the supporting walls). The roof will be supported by new reinforced concrete columns.

• demolish the whole structure and build a new one.

The Imambara

Again the main culprit of the destruction of the load bearing Imambara walls was the concrete roof slab which had been added a few years ago. The whole building will have to be demolished. In consultation with the managing committee, a scheme was finalised which was later approved by the general body. The new structure will be one storey and will have a ladies and a gents 
Imambara, a library, Musafir khana, Jamaat Office and stores. I left a sketch of the final proposed design with the Jamaat.

At 5 pm, there was a general meeting of the Jamaat. I explained the scheme for permanent housing. 

The Jamaat will need 12 homes for people who lived in rented accommodation. The Jamaat owns only one piece of land on which may two homes can be built. The original house on this land was totally destroyed. While the houses on the other lands owned by the Jamaat are also totally destroyed, the lands are not available for the use of the Jamaat because they have sitting tenants. It was therefore decided that the best solution would be to buy land around the 
mosque complex and put up 12 homes on them. These will be owned by the Jamaat.

For the remaining 20 families or so who own their own lands, they should build on their own lands and avail themselves of the housing loans from the Jamaat.

It also became apparent during the visit, that the mumineen of Nagalpur are in dire need of business loans (phase 3). They will make a decision within a week or so and may request for business loans.

Earthquake in Gujarat - Update 34

Bhuj, Saturday 3 November 2001 

I arrived at Bhuj airport on Saturday 3 November at mid day. Leaders of Bhuj Jamaat received me warmly. We went straight to Al Mahdi Society where the World Federation has built temporary homes for the mumineen of Bhuj. I am comfortably accommodated in one of the rooms there.

I spent the afternoon at the Society meeting and talking with the committee members and elders. I got myself updated on the latest situation and progress since my last visit in April 2001.

Over 900 after shocks (3 per day) have been observed since 26 January 2001. The last one a few days ago was 4.7 on the Richter scale. 

Many familieas had gone away to other town in Kutch and Kathiawad. They have all come back now. Mumineen are reasonably comfortable in the temporary homes. The ladies and the gents temporary Imambaras are also heavily used. There have been 4 marriages recently. The moulana is back in Bhuj with his family. He leads Namaz-e-Jamaat 3 times a day. Ladies also pray in the 
Imambara with Jamaat all the 5 Namaz every day. Moulana also runs the madressa which is well attended. A lady gives tuition to school children from her home. A lady runs sewing classes from her home. Walking around the Society, you see ladies sitting on the verandas reciting Qur'an or knitting or sewing, you see children doing their homework and there generally is a feeling of hustle and bustle around the place. 

The men have settled down in their jobs. During my last trip, you could see the men sitting around in shock and with nothing to do. This time you notice that most of them are away for most of the day, earning a living. Schools have also reopened (many in temporary accommodation), so the children attend school regularly too. 

At night we had a general meeting, attended by most members of Bhuj Jamaat. The meeting went on till 1.30 am. I congratulated the committee and all those mumineen who had helped in the establishment of the Al Mahdi Society - construction of the 84 homes, complete with self contained kitchen and bathroom/toilet, two Imambaras, a Jamaat office and an office for Kutch 
Federation. All this was completed within 3 months. 

I brifed the mumineen present on the final phase of resettlement - construction of permanent homes and permanent religious centres. I requested those who had their own lands and were in a position to build on them (possibly 34 families) to proceed with the drawings and avail themselves with the interest free soft loans which will be available through the Jamaat. Those intending to build small dwelling of up to 500 sq feet will be able to borrow up to 150,000 rupees. Those intending to build homes of 600 sq feet or larger will be able to borrow up to 200,000 rupees. 

The land at Al Mahdi Society is just big enough to permanently accommodate the 46 families who do not own their own land and used to live in rented accommodation. As the families who own their lands move out, accommodation at the Society will be available for conversion into permanent homes for the remaining families. 

Earthquake in Gujarat - Update 33

Itinerary

Muhsin Dharamsi is visiting Kutch and Mariya to help in the final phase of resettlement of our communities affected by the earthquake. His itinerary is as follows. From there, he will inshallah send regular updates, which will be placed on this web site for your information. Throughout his stay in Kutch, every night, he will sleep in the temporary housing complex in Bhuj.
In each town, he will meet the committee and then the whole jamaat

Friday 2 Nov - depart London for Mumbai.

Saturday 3 Nov - arrive Bhuj. 

Sunday 4 Nov - 10 am leave Bhuj for Nagalpur. 

Monday 5 Nov - 10 am leave Bhuj for Mandvi, 2 pm leave Mandvi for Mundra. 

Tuesday 6 Nov -  4pm leave Bhuj for Kera.

Wednesday 7 Nov - in Bhuj

Thursday 8 Nov - 10 am leave for Morbi and Mariya,sleep in Mariya.

Friday 9 Nov - 10 am leave for Bhavnagar - meet committee to finalise the Mulla Asghar Memorial Campus.

Saturday 10 Nov -  in Bhavnagar - meet the architect and visit the site of Mulla Asghar Memorial Campus.

Sunday 11 Nov - leave Bhavnagar for Mumbai and London