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'I wish I had died so that I would not see this day'

Sheela Bhatt in Bhuj

As I try to make my way through the old city, I find huge piles of rubble all around me. It looks as if Bhuj has been razed in some bombardment.

"Madam yeh car aage nahin ja sakti, aage rasta nahin hain (this car cannot go further, there is no road)," my driver tells me.

I start walking, photographer in tow. After 15 minutes I reach Vitha Falia, a residential complex. Here, I am stopped by Navin Rajgor who is searching for something in the debris. He is looking for his cousins, Nikhil, 20, and Sunil, 22.

"Please help," he requests me. My photographer and I stop to help. Two days after the earthquake, it is a tragedy that there is no one from the army, police or fire brigade to help people like Navin whose loved ones are trapped inside the debris.

The three of us try to move a huge concrete slab. We finally succeed after half an hour, and I encounter the most horrific scene I have ever seen.

I can see Nikhil and Sunil trapped under another concrete slab. Navin breaks down when he sees their bodies. Unfortunately, this slab is so huge it is impossible for us to move it.

I tell Navin it will not be possible for us to move the slab, and that we would need cranes or other equipment to do so. "I want their bodies, please," he pleads. "Otherwise, stray dogs will eat their bodies."

"My mother Maniben and Pushpabhabhi died under the debris. I could hear their voices crying for help. I could do little. It was impossible for me to clear the rubble. As time passed, their voices grew faint. Then I could hear their voices no more. I realised they were gone," he weeps.

We try again to move the slab, then give up. I tell Navin that I will leave and ask the police to help. "Please help me" he pleads. "I know these people will not come. I won't be able to perform their last rites."

Vinod Bawa, a resident of Bhuj who was trapped inside the debris, told me he was lucky to escape on his own. A hand caught him as he was digging his way out. He heard a voice, saying, 'Please pull me out.' "I told him, 'I am sorry, I cannot. There is no way I can push this cement block from your body. I think you will have to depend on God. Only he can save you.' "

Dr J K Jain, another resident of Bhuj, showed me his destroyed city. "At least 60 relatives are stuck inside the rubble," he said, "but I don't know where they are. I don't know where to search for them. I wish I had died with them so that I would not see this day."

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