As the enormity of Saturday’s earthquake sinks in, the individual tragedies of every village are also surfacing, each one as distinct as the devastation in Parala village, a settlement eight kilometres from here.On Saturday, last, the inhabitants of Parala, all small-time growers and exporters of dry fruits, watched helplessly as close to Rs 50 lakh worth of their fruit stores was destroyed, all their equipment and tools smashed, and their source of livelihood wiped out.‘‘I have lost everything that kept me and my family alive. My youngest daughter Zameeda is dead, and my wife has been grievously injured. I have left two sons and a daughter at the ruins of my house, with no food,’’ says Abdul Hamid, a Parala villager rescued on Monday by an Army Cheetah helicopter and brought to a medical camp here. His wife has a broken leg, and six broken ribs, besides head injuries.Hamid’s tragedy encompasses all of Parala. According to his account, other villagers whose fruit businesses were wiped out included Maqsood Ahmed, who lost Rs 1 lakh worth of stores, Mamon Yakub who lost Rs 2 lakh, Abder Rahman who lost Rs 1 lakh and Mahmoud Younis with Rs 1 lakh worth loss. The tiny village, with about 25 dry fruit entrepreneurs—the lifeblood of the settlement—has lost close to Rs 50 lakh in direct revenue.‘‘The Army has helped us a little, but what more can they do. There is nothing more to be done,’’ says Hamid, who and his wife were airlifted to Srinagar late on Monday.Hamid is now in Srinagar with no real plan on what to do next. Before he leaves in an Army vehicle towards a military hospital, he says, ‘‘Once my wife undergoes treatment and feels better, I hope the Army will be kind enough to take us back to our village. I hope my children are alright. There are hardly any adults left in my village, my oldest son is only 15. To be honest, I expect the worst, but there is no harm in hoping for the best.’’
