OPEN HOUSE Though their home in the old city of Bhuj is listed for demolition, the Dhamecha family prefers it to relief camps

On January 14, the Arya Samaj building at Gandhidham made for a pretty sight. There was much colour as children, 22 of them to be precise, observed the Makar Sankranti tradition and flew colourful kites from the terrace. Looking at the equally bright faces of the youngsters, it was difficult to tell what they had been through. Orphans all, they had lost their parents to the killer earthquake on January 26 last year. Some of them, like Sunita Bhatti, were barely seven then. The Arya Samaj had taken them under its wing and taught them how to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.

Hope born of despair is evident elsewhere too. Entire villages in Kutch, Ludiya, Sugariya, Dudhai and Morsad for instance, have literally risen from the rubble with new houses, schools, community halls and even roads spanning their landscape. For the innumerable NGOs and government agencies which worked towards this end, it is a flattering report at the end of the first year of that horrific Republic Day. But that's just one part of the assessment.

THE WAY AHEAD Life has returned to normal in a housing colony developed by the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaneti village

Unlike the rural pockets of Kutch, rehabilitation efforts have been rather lax in urban centres like Bhuj, Anjar, Bhachau and Rahpar. Barring the brisk work on a new Rs 100 crore medical college at Bhuj and school buildings in general, around 28,000 families are still living in makeshift quarters-prefabricated houses, tents and tin-shed dwellings-and rented houses or have simply left the towns. The Gujarat Government claims that new plans for these four towns are ready and that people would soon be given permission to build their new homes with the promised compensation of Rs 1.75 lakh a family.

According to Kutch District Collector H.N. Chibber, as much as Rs 1,500 crore have been spent on relief and rehabilitation in the area so far, with an additional Rs 5,000 crore still to be used. The Government, he maintains, could have easily disbursed the house damage compensation from this corpus but the task at hand entailed building keeping the long term in mind.

Justifying the delay, Chibber argues that bringing out a draft plan for a new township normally takes more than two years. "Here we have done it in a record six months," he says, adding that the legalities involved were what had, to a large extent, caused the delay. Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority Additional CEO Maheshwar Shahu agrees. "Reconstructing towns involves delicate issues," he points out. "The choice before us is between what is perceived as delay and a secure future."

COLOUR OF LIFE Orphans adopted by the Arya Samaj in Gandhidham prepare to fly kites on Makar Sankranti

Mocking such logic, however, are the townships that have sprung up in the rural areas. In Dhaneti, a village where 80 per cent of the 800 houses were razed to the ground, the Ramakrishna Mission has helped build 219 one-room-one-kitchen homes, besides a new primary school building. Says Madansinh Jadeja, 19, who will shift to his new house shortly: "The earthquake came as a blessing to us."

The same is true in many other villages. Manavsadhana, a voluntary body, has managed to completely change the face of Ludhiya village with earthquake-resistant structures. In Morsad, all the 176 houses built by IFFCO are ready. And in Sugariya, villagers have already moved into the 200 houses built by an overseas corporate house.

Of the 350 villages that were completely devastated, 212 are being developed by NGOs, either by themselves or in partnership with the Government. Of these, 20 are complete and work is on in an advanced stage in 280 others. Almost 70 per cent of the houses in these areas would be ready by the next monsoon.

DAILY STRUGGLE Yet to receive state compensation, Manglaben Pandya (left) and her daughter still live in a camp in Bhuj

Even in villages where NGOs haven't stepped in, the people, thanks to the participatory or owner-driven rehabilitation policy of the Government, are doing a good job. At Khengarpur, for instance, the locals have turned the scene around with their enterprise. Even compensation was disbursed promptly. Says a beaming farmer, Ranchodbhai Kesariya, who has received Rs 68,000 so far: "Our new, strong house will be ready soon."

The rehabilitation work in rural areas has earned the Gujarat Government the admiration of many foreign agencies involved in rebuilding the state. Says Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who on assuming the office of chief minister in September 2001, speeded up the process: "We have succeeded in setting up a rehabilitation model for the entire country. It will prove useful in case of such calamities in future."

People participation and enthusiasm, however, are visibly absent in the urban areas. The Government is still to figure out how many of those living in the old, walled cities would shift outside. It has been unable to act firmly against those resisting relocation for fear of losing out on the increasing property prices in the old cities. It is alleged that top BJP and Congress leaders too have real estate interests in these areas. Coupled with this is the escalating cost of construction-despite the Government providing subsidised cement. "In a way, the quake has proved a boon for the recession-hit construction industry," says contractor Keshubhai Prajapati, one of the estimated 15,000 contractors, labourers, masons and engineers who have shifted to Kutch in the past one year.

ROUTE TO RECOVERY A year after the earthquake new roads, like this in Bhuj, are being rapidly constructed

Significantly, many buildings that were marked for demolition inside the walled city in Bhuj still stand in precarious conditions. And families who are yet to get the Rs 12,000 compensation for building makeshift houses have moved into these tottering structures. Tailor Pravin Dhamecha is one of them. After staying in a tent for almost 11 months, he has shifted back to his two-storeyed house that is falling apart. "What else can I do," he asks. "I will die here if God wants me to."

A NEW BEGINNING Ranchodbhai Kesariya and his wife used compensation money to build their own house in Kutch

Not all are willing to resign themselves to fate though. Shyamji Bhavsar, who lives with his family in a makeshift colony in Surelbit near Bhuj, is yet to receive the promised dole to rebuild his house. But he refuses to lose heart. Celebrating the fact that his grandson Yashesh, who underwent 11 surgeries on his leg after that fateful day, will be able to walk again soon, he believes that the Government has done well so far and that everything will fall in place with time.

Also banking on time are Mehmood Khalifa and his wife Roshan. In their case, the Government has given them their "dues": Rs 1.2 lakh for the death of their two children, Farheen and Adil, in Bhuj. But the couple hasn't touched the money yet. Having failed to locate the bodies of the children after the earthquake, they are clinging to a forlorn belief that the two could still be alive. When around 90 orphaned children were brought to meet Modi at a function in Bhachau recently, Mehmood and his wife hired a taxi to go there. They returned with misty eyes and empty hands but they haven't given up yet. "Some day, we will return the Rs 1.2 lakh to the Government," vows Mehmood. The desperation in his voice is unmistakable. But, as in the case of thousands of others, it is also laden with hope, however remote, that life will be the same again.