SRINAGAR, Oct 10: Thousands of panicked people in occupied Kashmir fled their homes in darkness on Monday after mosques announced that huge new tremors were to hit the region.
Men, women and children left their beds as loudhailers in mosques blared out that ‘huge tremors were to hit Kashmir between 12am and 1am’.
“We had people in streets almost in every locality in Srinagar,” a police spokesman said.
Srinagar is home to more than one million people.
Relatives telephoned each other to tell them about the ‘possible fresh tremors’, creating more panic in other towns, police said.
People carrying children on their shoulders were seen flooding to relatively safe places such as parks and playgrounds.
Many Muslims also poured into the mosques and began reciting verses from the Holy Quran and chanting: “There is no god but Allah.”
Others jumped into their cars and sped off to try to reach safety in open spaces on the outskirts of the city.
“I rushed out with my two daughters and wife after repeated announcements in the mosques,” said a bewildered Mohammed Amin, 64.
“We were panicked by the rumours and rushed to a neighbouring playground,” he said. Police vehicles equipped with loudhailers urged people not to believe the rumours from the mosques.
“We urge people to go back to your homes. They are only rumours. No scientist has predicted any fresh tremors,” a policeman announced over a loudhailer.
The situation calmed down as police made their rounds.
“We came back to our homes only after repeated assurances by the police that there was no truth in the rumours,” said Hajra Begum, 61.
But in Uri sector, which has borne the brunt of the devastation and seen hundreds of lives lost, people were panicked by a mild tremor overnight.
“Around 1am there was a mild tremor creating panic in our village,” said Reyaz Ahmed, 24, from Garkote village, in the mountains overlooking Uri town.
Reyaz Ahmed lost his house in Saturday’s tragedy and since then has been living out in an open field.
“We have got no tents. We have brought some polythene sheets and placed those on bamboo sticks to shelter our women and children,” he said.
Reyaz Ahmed, a government employee, said children had started falling ill due to the cold.
“They are complaining of chest congestion and sore throats,” he said.—AFP
