TRIVANDRUM, 11 October 2005 — Some 175 Kashmiri children studying at a charitable institute in Malabar were relieved yesterday to learn their families were safe after Saturday’s devastating earthquake.
“Thank God. All our people were safe,” their guide Gulam Geelani Butt, 22, who hails from Anantnag in Kashmir, said.
The boys, aged between six and 12, were adopted by the Markazu Ssaquafathi Ssunniyya at Karanthur near Calicut 10 months back. Most of them belong to the quake-hit border areas of Uri, Kupwara and Baramulla. Around 100 of them are orphans.
The houses of Bilal Ahmed Dhar and Azad Ahmed Loan, both in Baramulla, were flattened while the houses of Bilal Ahmed Butt (Srinagar), Zubair Khayoom (Baramulla), Mohammed Mustaqueem (Baramulla) and Irshad Ahmed Sheikh (Baramulla) were destroyed partially under the impact.
It was impossible to assess the extent of the damage since communication links went haywire after the earthquake, Butt said. The children offered special prayers for the dead and thanked God for rescuing their families.
“I’m leaving for home this week to contact the families of each student and to get a clear picture. There’s no cause for worry,” Butt said by telephone from the Markaz. He hoped the worst was over.
