And this will happen across the country, and abroad,'' he said. Scared and shaken, the traumatised people of the earthquake-hit areas are taking refuge in religion for solace. Temples and mosques have hardly seen so many visitors before but now the fear of recurrence of the quake had turned the population superstitious. First a wave of scare had gripped the entire area after an astrologer had made a forecast that another quake was to strike on February 3. And people abandoned even those houses, which had not even developed cracks in the earlier quake in fear.
Nobody wants to take any chances.
But if you don't even believe in it, the woman-folk of the family force you to do so,'' he said. In fact, in the temporary shelters and tents pitched for the victims of the quake across Gujarat, the chanting of Bhajans and Kirtans and conduct of special prayers has become a regular feature. And in the Muslim areas, people keep on reading verses from the Quran loudly. We accept it as God's will. We believe that it had to happen and the only way to get out of this shock is to seek God's help only,'' said Nurmohmad Yousuf, a Muslim priest in Bhuj.