GUWAHATI, April 24 - After it became the epicentre of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake witnessed on January 4 this year, life for those at Kabui Khullen village of Manipur has changed for ever.
Fearing aftereffects, the hill top village was relocated 11 kilometres away from the epicentre. However, owing to relocation and virtually no source of income, the villagers were virtually losing hopes of survival. However, a ray of hope has just touched the villagers who were literally left in dire straits post the quake.
Believers� Church, with parishes worldwide and headquartered in Kerala, has decided the help rebuild the lives of the quake-hit people of the village in Tamenglong district of Manipur.
The Church will be spending Rs 2 crore for building houses and other rehabilitation works. The Church in the recent past had also aided victims of flood and earthquake in Assam.
After carrying out a survey of the village on April 14 and 15, the Church has decided to help in the rehabilitation process by building houses for 53 families, facilitating continuous supply of dry ration for the next few months and setting up an educational centre for the children in the relocated village.
Post the massive destruction that the village witnessed on January 4 this year, such an initiative could just inject new hopes in the lives of the affected population.
�Now that the decision to relocate the village has been taken, we would soon help rebuild the village. About 80 per cent of the houses were damaged and large cracks appeared on both sides of the village,� Bishop Dr Juria Burdhan of Believers Church, Kolkata and North East told this reporter.
He said that process of rebuilding the houses would soon start and special care will be taken for the children, who are around 100 in number.
The Church is also consulting with the local authorities to ensure that a school is set up soon in the area. If the setting up of school takes more time, the Church said that it will undertake construction of the school facility themselves. �We are committed to the re-development and permanent solution to the problems of the village residents,� he added.
