Latur, Sep 30: As per local tradition, residents of Killari village in Maharashtra Latur district will observe 'black day' today. On September 30 in 1993, a devastating earthquake struck the Latur-Osmanabad region and claimed around 10,000 lives, while leaving scores injured. Since then, every year on September 30, Killari villagers observe a 'black day' to mark the anniversary of the tragedy.

Although 25 years have passed, nothing much has changed for many, with people still waiting for compensation for damages suffered in the massive earthquake. The quake, which hit on the occasison of Ganesh Visarjan, destroyed around 52 villages in Latur-Osmanabad region. Killari village was the epicentre of that earthquake, which measured 6.4 on the Richter scale.

Farm labourer Tanaji Suryavanshi is one of the worst affected victims of the tragedy. He not only lost several family members, including his 10-year-old son, but also had to part with his 6.5 acre farm which was taken away by the government for re-settling the survivors. Debt-ridden Suryavanshi now lives in a tin- roofed hut in Killari, and is waiting for compensation or alternate land.

Another Killari resident Prashant Harangule, 51, whose house was damaged and family members injured in the tragedy, recalls experiencing tremors every 5 minutes after the quake. “When the rumour spread about Terna dam having burst due to the quake, many of the survivors fled in panic. We had to live in a transit camp for around three years,” he told news agency PTI.

Madhukar Chavan, the five-term Congress MLA from Tuljapur in the neighbouring Osmanabad which also bore the brunt of the quake, said, “A lot of help came but the wounds never healed even as survivors tried to move on in life.” Killari’s deputy sarpanch Ashok Potdar, a doctor by profession, said tremors were felt in the area from October 1992 till June 1993.

A team of scientists and geologists had visited the place and told us that an earthquake is unlikely, but locals left their homes and went to stay in open fields,” he recalled. Senior Congress leader Shivraj Patil, who was then the Lok Sabha member from Latur, appealed to people to return to their homes, Potdar said.

He said authorities told them of the precautions to be taken following which locals returned to their homes in June and later, the quake struck in September that year. (With PTI inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 30, 2018 06:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).