Midlands cash helps earthquake relief

Hollow bricks are being used to rebuild the village

Millions of pounds raised in the UK is being used to rebuild homes destroyed by an earthquake in India almost a year ago.

The earthquake in Gujarat last January killed an estimated 30,000 people and left more than 200,000 people homeless.

In the months following the disaster, almost £2m was raised in the East Midlands, mostly in Leicester where there is a large Indian population.

Some of the money has gone to the tiny village of Nana Layja on the western coast of Gujarat, where many homes and a school have been rebuilt.

"We have almost rebuilt all the houses in the village, and without the money from Leicester, this would not have been possible," said project leader Abdul Khalik Miyani.

Many residents lost everything in the earthquake on 26 January 2001.

One survivor from Nana Layja told BBC News: "Our house just crumbled in on us. We were lucky to escape with our lives."

Local builders have learned from the earthquake, and are now using a new construction material that is safer in quakes.

"Hollow blocks make the structure very light, so that if there is an earthquake, and the building falls, it will not injure people as much as the heavier bricks would," said site engineer Romesh Sharma.

Two fresh water supplies have been constructed in the village with money from the UK.

The aim is to finish 200 new houses for villagers by February 2002.