A series of tremors within fortnight in two separate areas of Chittoor district, particularly in the backward hamlets, are suffice to spread panic among the predominantly illiterate families, to whom a quake and a tremor are one and the same.
While a tremor with a magnitude of 1.5 on the Richter scale struck Bangarupalem mandal on October 28, it was 2.6 at the adjoining Yadamarri mandal on the midnight of November 9-10.
Though the revenue officials had observed on both occasions that there was no loss to property, 10 houses had developed visible cracks, enough to arouse fear among the families at the CJFC Colony of Veluthula Chenu panchayat of Bangarupalem mandal. The November tremors resulted in small cracks in a couple of houses, but the impact was felt more powerfully as the sleepy villagers could feel the jolt physically, and see the household articles move.
The CJFS Colony, with 80 families and houses, is located in a forested area. While only the young generation is going to schools, the rest are mostly illiterates and settlers from Tamil Nadu three decades ago. Most are daily wagers, depending for work in Vellore, Vaniyambadi, Gudiyattam and the farmlands on the Tamil Nadu border.
The residents here said during the last 15 days, they had been hearing rumblings. “Tremors occurred here on October 28. Five days later, the officials came here and said there was nothing to worry. But we continue to hear the sounds at nights,” a resident Subramanyam of the colony said. The sarpanch of the Veluthula Chenu panchyat observed that fear-stricken families were getting ready to leave the village. Some villagers said about half a dozen families had already left for their relatives houses in Tamil Nadu.
Murugesh (75) of Siddareddipalle panchayat of Yadamarri, which experienced tremors in November, recalled similar activity some three decades ago in the same area. Another villager Ravi said sleeping on the floor, he suddenly felt himself rolling on the ground. “As it had been raining in the area for the last three months, I thought it was my hallucination due to lightning. Later, I found my neighbours in the street,” he said.
Revenue Divisional Officer (Chittoor) D. Kodandarami Reddy said senior scientists would study the conditions in the vulnerable villages. Some officials felt that the reason for the tremors could be the adjustment of earth plates due to recent rains, which came after several years.
