Surrounded by majestic peaks of Qazinag mountains, this hamlet in Uri is all but flattened. All its 300 houses have been razed by the recent quake.Sultan Daki is still counting its dead. The toll has already crossed 48 and ‘‘some bodies are yet to be recovered,’’ said Abdul Rehman, a shopkeeper. Seven villagers who had gone up in the mountains to fetch grass for livestock are still missing. Dozens of injured are undergoing treatment in different hospitals.But the village is no stranger to tragedy.Owing to its nearness to the LoC, it has always borne the brunt of cross-border shelling.Since 1998, eight of its residents have died and dozens have been injured.Shelling has taken its toll on half the houses in the village and many of the victims are yet to get compensation, said Nazir Ahmad Mir. ‘‘It is time again to get papers for compensation. God knows when we will get to rebuild our houses’’.The lone high school of the village bears testimony to both shelling and the quake. In 2003, shells fired from across the LoC damaged part of the school. This time, the quake brought down its two buildings.‘‘Shelling left us devastated and the quake ruined us completely,’’ said a resident, Mohammad Safer, ‘‘tragedy has visited every household.’’In a corner of the village, inside a temporary shelter, Nazi Ahmad Awan mourned the death of his mother, Zareena.‘‘This is the third tragedy in our house. On August 2003, my two nephews, Mujahid (7) and Azhar (8) died when a shell fell on our house. My mother had a narrow escape that day. But this time, she was not lucky enough,’’ he said. ‘‘After the India-Pakistan ceasefire, we thought our worries are going to end. But it seems we rejoiced too early.’’
