By Sheikh Mushtaq
DRANGYARI, India, Nov 30 (Reuters)
- Sarwar Jan and her eight shivering children collect a handful of
twigs to light a fire in their little tin shed as it snows heavily outside.
"I fear they will catch pneumonia going out in such weather," said 45-year-old Jan, tears streaming down her face as her children huddled around a fire, many of them coughing in their dirty pherens (long coat) or ponchos.
"They will die ... God save us."
Jan and her children survived the devastating Oct. 8 earthquake in South Asia that killed more than 73,000 people and left millions homeless, and are now fighting a harsh Himalayan winter.
Nearly 600 people in Indian Kashmir, whose world was destroyed by the quake, live in temporary tin sheds and tents under a thick layer of snow and freezing temperatures in Drangyari, a small valley ringed by lofty snow-covered mountains and pine forests.
"Life has become extremely difficult particularly for children. Allah is angry with us. Allah only can save us," said Mohammad Showkat Khan, the chief priest of the village, looking towards the sky as the snow falls.
Nearby men, women and children shovelled snow from the roof of their tin sheds and tents, many of them with bare hands.
"I can't sleep for the whole night because of the coughing and the pain in my foot," said 10-year-old Parveena, pointing towards the frostbite on her right foot.
Khan said many children had fallen ill in the village and at least three had been sent to an army hospital.
"We provide them medical facilities when they come to us but our doctors have also visited the village twice in recent days," said Lieutenant-Colonel S. Solanki, an army officer, in a nearby army camp.
Winters are always harsh in this part of the Himalayan region. Snowstorms and avalanches killed 300 in Indian Kashmir last season and meteorologists predict another tough winter this year.
Many areas are cut off from the rest of the world, sometimes for months.
Relief officials say they have constructed nearly 2,000 pre-fabricated shelters and over 12,000 tin sheds for the quake survivors.
"Weather is a problem but I am sure it will not hamper our relief operations," B.B. Vyas, chief of relief operations, said.
The quake, the strongest to hit South Asia in a century, killed more than 1,300 people and left thousands homeless in Indian Kashmir.
"In the next few days we will be buried under snow. Nobody is coming to help us. Even God is angry with us. Please help us," pleaded 82-year-old Khatoon.