Surviving the earthquake
By Mahim Pandhi Posted Sun, Apr 1 2001
From my second floor office of the Kutchmitra Daily newspaper, I have begun to see signs of life slowly creep back into the streets of Bhuj. In February, an earthquake reduced towns and cities, once pulsating with activity, to piles of rubble and ash. There was no water, no electricity and no communication with the outside world.
The district of Kutch is separated from the rest of India, and without its largest daily newspaper it became even more isolated. We knew we had to get the paper up and running as soon as we could. The people needed a connection; something to help them make sense of the chaos around them.
Our building and the press had been damaged. Three of our employees lost their lives, and many others lost their loved ones. Almost everyone lost their homes.
With a handful of people, we restarted the paper just three days after the quake. As soon as they got well, physically and mentally, our colleagues started coming back to the office on their own accord. Even though the building was supposed to be quakeproof, it wasn’t safe to be inside it due to the aftershocks that could cause more damage — mentally and physically. So, tents were set up outside the building. Without electricity, we didn’t have a phone, fax machine or teleprinter. This made outside communication impossible.
Under the leadership of our editor Kirti Khatri, our young and able reporters worked day and night. They had to travel all over to get the information they needed. A fuel shortage made it even more difficult. The stories were ready, but we still had to figure out how to compose and print them.
Our sister publication, Pulchhaab, came to the rescue. Kutchmitra is not a privately owned newspaper, but a member of a public trust. Pulchhaab is from the same trust, but it’s published from Rajkot, over 200 miles away. So, we had to drive the stories to Rajkot by car. Our deadline was moved from midnight to 5 p.m. The Pulchhaab staff worked overtime to put the paper together. The paper was printed there and would arrive in Bhuj early in the morning. For 15 days, this is how we ran the paper. Once the electricity was turned back on, we composed the paper from our office garage.
There was also the problem of figuring out how to distribute the paper. Bhuj and surrounding towns were nothing but ruins. Our readers no longer had addresses, much less a mailbox. Some were living with their relatives, while others were in temporary shelters. For obvious reasons, our agents weren’t working and our paperboys were nowhere to be found.
Soon, people started making their own arrangements to get papers. Some even came to the press to get it. As the weeks passed, the paper crawled back to normal, but circulation was scarce and advertisements were out of the question.
Without advertisements, extra expenses started to add up. Thankfully, our trustees in Mumbai told the paper’s staff, “Work on your mission without worrying about expenses!” We lost nearly $25,000 during this time. The paper’s size steadily climbed from four to six to eight pages and now it is published at full size.
The desert district of Kutch is the westernmost part of India. It is about the size of a small state, but the population is quite scarce and scattered throughout the land. There are about nine hundred small villages. The average distance between two towns is about 20 miles. State transport buses are the only available means of transportation between most towns.
Kutchmitra has been publishing for 52 years and is part of the local lifestyle. We have correspondents in most of the villages, and in bigger towns we have bureaus. The paper plays a very important role in a region where the few available communication facilities are extremely outdated.
Thousands of families were torn apart by the earthquake. The death toll stands at 45,000, with thousands injured and even more left homeless. My staff and I suffered right along with these people.
The paper’s deadline has returned to midnight, and distribution is back to normal. Circulation is on its way back to its original 30,000, and advertisements have started flowing in.
Still there is an emptiness. The rehabilitation of Kutch is far from complete. The world has helped with its expressed sympathy and generous aid. Former President of the United States Bill Clinton and American congressmen have come to see the situation for themselves.
During the course of the work day, we still miss our lost colleagues. This is one void which will never be filled.