MANSEHRA, Oct 24: The killer earthquake of Oct 8 claimed 62 lives and flattened all 400 homes in the village of Devli, 65 kilometres to the north-east of Mansehra town. Those who survived the quake have been forced to live in the open sky.

Most of those who died were women and children. Eight men also perished in the quake. Besides the village of Devli, the number of dead and injured in the adjoining villages of Nararban, Chinarkot, Sair, Chingari, Doudpat, Jabbar, Kairi, Lakhara, Pakha, Kund and Phalaila is more than 300.

“We are in an extremely difficult situation,” says Syed Farman Shah, headmaster of the government high school, in Devli. “We have nothing left”.

“The earthquake razed our houses to the ground, killed scores of our relatives and family members, destroyed our crops and cattle, cracked our mountains and polluted our sweet water fountains,” Mr Shah said.

Despite that the villagers have vowed not to move out from Devli to the newly created tent villages. “After all, we have our survived kin and family members, the forest and agriculture land, our cattle, the means of our livelihood, the graves of our ancestors in Devli village,” Mr Shah said. Most of all they are reluctant to go because they are uncomfortable with the idea of their veiled women staying in a tent village.

The buildings of the basic health unit, the government high school, middle school and both primary schools for boys and girls in Devli collapsed following the quake. However, the schoolchildren were fortunate enough to be saved from coming under the debris.

In the scenic Bhogarmang and Konsh valleys of Mansehra tehsil, the violent tremors had a crippling effect on human life and property. The local and international media and rescue and relief teams were instantly attracted to the worse-hit Balakot town and the Konsh valley situated alongside the Karakoram Highway (KKH).

However, the green Bhogarmang valley which comprises five union councils and has a population of about 100,000, remained neglected for more than 10 days partly due to the blockade of Seron valley road and partly due to the preoccupation of rescuers in most devastated areas.

From the Shinkiari town onwards, while travelling on Seron valley road one comes across scenes of destruction on both sides in the areas of union council Som Elahi Mong, union council Bhogarmang, union council Jabouri, union council Sacha and the union council Jabbar-Devli.

Camped out in the temporary shelters built out of zinc sheets and wooden planks that once held their destroyed houses together, all the surviving men, women and children, young and the old, are waiting to be rehabilitated.

As far as the eye can see, there are scenes of destruction in Bhagarmang valley, the women wailing for their dead and loved ones, the deserted villages and their fading beauty at the hands of merciless nature.

The most devastation, however, can be witnessed in union council Devli-Jabbar of the Bhogarmang valley which had a population of about 15,000. Hundreds of people here died in the earthquake and hundred of homes were destroyed.

The ordeal of the survivors in the beautiful and ancient village of Devli which had a population of 3,000 is quite different from others. For the last many centuries the Sadaat tribe of Bhogarmang valley has been living in Devli village.

On Oct 8, it was in a matter of seconds that about 400 houses were reduced to rubble.

“We were preparing to harvest our maize crop but we saw the clouds of dust in the sky and death dancing in our village,” said Syed Ghazi Shah and Syed Nawab Shah.

“The morning of October 8 brought death and destruction to our village and instead of reaping the maize crop, we had to carry the corpses of our near and dear ones. All the families of Devli are wailing for their dead who were not less than three and four in number from every house,” they said.