Mission Gujarat
While I was doing my Masters, I decided to spend my semester holidays with my friends from Gujarat. As soon as the exams got over, Mohan, my classmate as well as roommate and myself boarded the train along with my friends from Gujarat. We reached Gujarat on the second day of the journey around 6.30 am. First week of the holidays were planned to be spent at the house of our friend, Chirag. So we went to his home after alighting from the train. It was January 26th and the nation was waking up to celebrate the Republic Day. Even though winter was receding, it was pretty cold compared to the climate in Kerala. We reached Chirag's home and were welcomed warmly by his parents. Around 8.45am I was talking to Vikas, another friend of mine who lives in Baroda, over the phone. I suddenly felt like being in a swing. I thought it was because of the 2 days travel in the train and continued talking over the phone. Suddenly, Chirag's father who was performing his daily Puja, asked me to run out of the house. Startled, I looked at his direction and saw the fan hanging from ceiling swaying like a swing. I ran out of the house and was soon joined by the rest in the house. We saw lots of monkeys running over the houses in panic and the ground was still shaking. I was experiencing the first earthquake of my life, which recorded a magnitude of 6.9 Richter scale that took away the lives of around 20,000 people.
Even though we experienced strong tremors, Baroda wasn't affected much compared to neighboring districts. A couple of hours later, news started flowing in that the epicenter, Bhuj was totally devastated. Ahmedabad, which lies close to Baroda, was also affected very badly. Next day, we received a call from the director of my institute. He told us that a medical team had been airlifted and two fully equipped ambulances were heading to Bhuj. He asked us to volunteer the medical team, as language was a barrier for them to communicate with the locals. The entire communication system went dead. Fortunately by evening, I was able to call my parents, who were very much worried after hearing the news. I told them we all were safe and that was a huge relief to them. I didn't tell them the next day I was going to Bhuj.
Next day early morning, all of us went to Ahmedabad, which was a two hours journey from Baroda. There we started collecting medicines, blankets, food which came from various agencies as aid to the quake victims. Evening around 6pm, the whole team started towards Anjar, a town very close to Bhuj. On either side of the roads, we could see completely shattered buildings. There were deep cracks on the roads. We camped in a school around midnight and had our dinner. Since it was freezing cold outside, I decided to catch some sleep in the mini bus we were traveling. We resumed the journey in the morning. On the roadsides, there were people in groups having their breakfasts, which were supplied by volunteers from different organizations engaged in relief activities. There were piles of clothes every another mile and people were picking clothes from them. While approaching Anjar, there was not even a single building, which was in a condition to live. People sat outside debris, what were once their homes. Most of them had bandages on their heads, hands or legs. I was numb with shock of witnessing the sufferings of those people. We finally reached the relief camp that accommodated hundreds of injured and homeless people.
We were provided with 6 makeshift camps set up by the military, which had already taken charge of the situation. In no time, we converted the camps to a basic medical facility with one camp as operation theatre, two as in-patient wards, one for medical supplies and the remaining two for the whole team. Along with two doctors, Mohan, Anoop and myself went to the camp and set up an outpatient desk. Since everything including hospitals was destroyed in the quake, everyone had to resort to the medical facilities in the relief camp. Already there were a couple of medical units who had their camps set up. People were always cautious of approaching a new camp. So during the initial hours we didn’t have many patients. Slowly people started coming in. One guy suffering from severe ear pain came to our camp. After examining, the doctor pulled out a small piece of debris, which went inside his ear while he was trying to run out of his collapsing house. As soon as it was removed, his pain subsided instantly. He was so happy with the treatment that he brought his son with a fractured leg, who was lying in another medical camp. Our orthopeadic surgeon examined and found out that the fracture was not properly fixed before the plaster had been put. The doctor immediately fixed it and applied a new plaster with the help of some of us. Soon many cases of deep wounds, multiple fractures and head injuries started coming to our camp. None of us had any previous experience in medical activities. But as there was no alternative, the doctors gave instructions on what to do, while they were working on patients and in a few hours time we all were assisting the docs like almost trained paramedics. One of my friends had to help the doctor in attending a couple of delivery cases in nearby villages. Another friend of mine assisted the orthopeadic surgeon while he was performing a surgery in a mobile ambulance. Since I could not stand the sight of blood, I was assigned the job of recording the patient details and distributing the drugs according to the prescriptions. The next 7 days were really hectic attending to cases varying from compound fractures, 3rd degree burns, deep skull injuries to common cold.
We all were given immunization vaccines as epidemics started fast spreading. Ministers and other bureaucrats started visiting the camps. One minister landed in a chopper with the dust from the chopper causing more distress to already suffering people in the camp. He didn’t even bother to enter the camp. After spending a few minutes with the officers in charge, he flew to another camp. One day I got an hour break and I took my camera and went to the village. The sight there was totally heartbreaking. Bodies of dead cattle and dogs were still lying on the roads. I was forced to close my nose, when people removed a four-day-old dead body beneath the debris. The village was a picture of total devastation. Sniffer dogs were still searching for bodies in the debris. I could see people waiting in long queues for food, clothes and medicines.
Our day usually starts by 9 am in the morning after finishing a quick breakfast served by volunteers. Some of us went with doctors to the villages for treating patients. Some others were attending the inpatients. One multistoried building opposite to our camp had lots of cracks and was in a condition to come down any time. Even after we reached the place, there were a few slight tremors. We used to run for open space and waited for the tremors to end. One night, our ambulance brought a man with multiple fractures in his leg and hip. He was lying in the ambulance and had to be shifted to our camp. I was the first to rush to the ambulance. Since there was no stretcher available, a “charpaai”(cot made of rope) was brought in. But nobody there was ready to help him get into the stretcher, as they were afraid of hurting him more in the process. After a while I came with Mohan and we managed to help him sit on the cot. He was crying because of the excruciating pain. Later he was admitted for surgery in the mobile ambulance. A small baby was admitted in our inpatient camp. After a few days, its health deteriorated and the baby died. That night we ate our dinner silently and went to bed.
Amidst all the pain and sufferings, one could find some heart-warming instances during those days of tragedy. One day, a girl of 18-20 years old came to our camp with a very deep wound in her feet. While dressing, the doctor had to put his scissors with guaze inside the wound. But this brave girl was looking at us with a beautiful smile that lifted the spirits of all of us. She became the symbol of resilience the people showed in coming back to life after the tragic tremor. After the day’s work in the relief camp, we used to sit in the camp and share lighter moments. On the seventh day, we were informed that another batch of students were coming to continue the relief work. We were told that we could go back. My friends from Gujarat had hardly spent some time with their families and wished to spend the remaining days of their vacation at home. By that time rail services were restored and trains started plying. We boarded a special train that night to Ahmedabad and from there caught a bus to Baroda. All of us were totally exhausted, but happy that we were able to help people in whatever possible way we could. Those days in the camp helped me in realizing how valuable human life is and how much I should be grateful to the Almighty for gifting me every single day I live.
Even though we experienced strong tremors, Baroda wasn't affected much compared to neighboring districts. A couple of hours later, news started flowing in that the epicenter, Bhuj was totally devastated. Ahmedabad, which lies close to Baroda, was also affected very badly. Next day, we received a call from the director of my institute. He told us that a medical team had been airlifted and two fully equipped ambulances were heading to Bhuj. He asked us to volunteer the medical team, as language was a barrier for them to communicate with the locals. The entire communication system went dead. Fortunately by evening, I was able to call my parents, who were very much worried after hearing the news. I told them we all were safe and that was a huge relief to them. I didn't tell them the next day I was going to Bhuj.
Next day early morning, all of us went to Ahmedabad, which was a two hours journey from Baroda. There we started collecting medicines, blankets, food which came from various agencies as aid to the quake victims. Evening around 6pm, the whole team started towards Anjar, a town very close to Bhuj. On either side of the roads, we could see completely shattered buildings. There were deep cracks on the roads. We camped in a school around midnight and had our dinner. Since it was freezing cold outside, I decided to catch some sleep in the mini bus we were traveling. We resumed the journey in the morning. On the roadsides, there were people in groups having their breakfasts, which were supplied by volunteers from different organizations engaged in relief activities. There were piles of clothes every another mile and people were picking clothes from them. While approaching Anjar, there was not even a single building, which was in a condition to live. People sat outside debris, what were once their homes. Most of them had bandages on their heads, hands or legs. I was numb with shock of witnessing the sufferings of those people. We finally reached the relief camp that accommodated hundreds of injured and homeless people.
We were provided with 6 makeshift camps set up by the military, which had already taken charge of the situation. In no time, we converted the camps to a basic medical facility with one camp as operation theatre, two as in-patient wards, one for medical supplies and the remaining two for the whole team. Along with two doctors, Mohan, Anoop and myself went to the camp and set up an outpatient desk. Since everything including hospitals was destroyed in the quake, everyone had to resort to the medical facilities in the relief camp. Already there were a couple of medical units who had their camps set up. People were always cautious of approaching a new camp. So during the initial hours we didn’t have many patients. Slowly people started coming in. One guy suffering from severe ear pain came to our camp. After examining, the doctor pulled out a small piece of debris, which went inside his ear while he was trying to run out of his collapsing house. As soon as it was removed, his pain subsided instantly. He was so happy with the treatment that he brought his son with a fractured leg, who was lying in another medical camp. Our orthopeadic surgeon examined and found out that the fracture was not properly fixed before the plaster had been put. The doctor immediately fixed it and applied a new plaster with the help of some of us. Soon many cases of deep wounds, multiple fractures and head injuries started coming to our camp. None of us had any previous experience in medical activities. But as there was no alternative, the doctors gave instructions on what to do, while they were working on patients and in a few hours time we all were assisting the docs like almost trained paramedics. One of my friends had to help the doctor in attending a couple of delivery cases in nearby villages. Another friend of mine assisted the orthopeadic surgeon while he was performing a surgery in a mobile ambulance. Since I could not stand the sight of blood, I was assigned the job of recording the patient details and distributing the drugs according to the prescriptions. The next 7 days were really hectic attending to cases varying from compound fractures, 3rd degree burns, deep skull injuries to common cold.
We all were given immunization vaccines as epidemics started fast spreading. Ministers and other bureaucrats started visiting the camps. One minister landed in a chopper with the dust from the chopper causing more distress to already suffering people in the camp. He didn’t even bother to enter the camp. After spending a few minutes with the officers in charge, he flew to another camp. One day I got an hour break and I took my camera and went to the village. The sight there was totally heartbreaking. Bodies of dead cattle and dogs were still lying on the roads. I was forced to close my nose, when people removed a four-day-old dead body beneath the debris. The village was a picture of total devastation. Sniffer dogs were still searching for bodies in the debris. I could see people waiting in long queues for food, clothes and medicines.
Our day usually starts by 9 am in the morning after finishing a quick breakfast served by volunteers. Some of us went with doctors to the villages for treating patients. Some others were attending the inpatients. One multistoried building opposite to our camp had lots of cracks and was in a condition to come down any time. Even after we reached the place, there were a few slight tremors. We used to run for open space and waited for the tremors to end. One night, our ambulance brought a man with multiple fractures in his leg and hip. He was lying in the ambulance and had to be shifted to our camp. I was the first to rush to the ambulance. Since there was no stretcher available, a “charpaai”(cot made of rope) was brought in. But nobody there was ready to help him get into the stretcher, as they were afraid of hurting him more in the process. After a while I came with Mohan and we managed to help him sit on the cot. He was crying because of the excruciating pain. Later he was admitted for surgery in the mobile ambulance. A small baby was admitted in our inpatient camp. After a few days, its health deteriorated and the baby died. That night we ate our dinner silently and went to bed.
Amidst all the pain and sufferings, one could find some heart-warming instances during those days of tragedy. One day, a girl of 18-20 years old came to our camp with a very deep wound in her feet. While dressing, the doctor had to put his scissors with guaze inside the wound. But this brave girl was looking at us with a beautiful smile that lifted the spirits of all of us. She became the symbol of resilience the people showed in coming back to life after the tragic tremor. After the day’s work in the relief camp, we used to sit in the camp and share lighter moments. On the seventh day, we were informed that another batch of students were coming to continue the relief work. We were told that we could go back. My friends from Gujarat had hardly spent some time with their families and wished to spend the remaining days of their vacation at home. By that time rail services were restored and trains started plying. We boarded a special train that night to Ahmedabad and from there caught a bus to Baroda. All of us were totally exhausted, but happy that we were able to help people in whatever possible way we could. Those days in the camp helped me in realizing how valuable human life is and how much I should be grateful to the Almighty for gifting me every single day I live.
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