Earthquake jolts J&K: Crown of Sheikh Ul Alam RA Charar-i-Sharief tomb tilts due to strong tremors
Highlights
- Crown of Charar-i-Sharief tomb tilts due to strong tremors felt across Kashmir
- The epicenter of the quake, which occurred at 9.45 am, was at the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border
- The tremors caused panic among people who rushed out of their homes
An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 on the Richter scale hit Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday morning. In Kashmir, the tremors were so strong that led to the tilting of a minaret of the famous Sufi saint's shrine at Chrar-e-Sharief in Budgam district.
Due to the strong tremours, the crown (Minaret) of Sheikh Ul Alam r.a (Nooruddin Wali's) Charar-i-Sharief tomb tilted, administrator Waqf board Chrar-i-Sharief told India TV.
Management of the Sheikh Nuruddin Wali's shrine said that besides the tilting, there was no apparent damage to the main building which is now being inspected to detect internal damage.
"The crown at the minaret of the shrine got tilted and lost its original shape due to the strong tremors felt across Kashmir. However, there is no major damage to the shrine and everything is being inspected from the inner and outer side," Administrator Waqf board Chrar-i-Sharief told India Tv.
Revered equally by the Muslims and local Pandits, the Sufi saint is called Nund Rishi by his Kashmiri Pandit devotees. The shrine building was gutted on May 11, 1995 when a foreign terrorist, Mast Gul along with other terrorists converted it into a fortified bunker while being challenged by the security forces.
The epicenter of the quake, which occurred at 9.45 am, was at the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border. Strong tremors were felt in Jammu and Kashmir.
"That was a very strong earthquake. 7.3 on the Richter Scale, 189 KM WSW of Islamabad, Pakistan as per National Center for Seismology," tweeted Srinagar Mayor, Junaid Azim Matt.
The officials said the quake hit at latitude 36.34 degrees north and longitude 71.05 degrees east at a depth of 181 km.
A statement issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the moderate-intensity temblor occurred at 9.45 a.m. and its coordinates are latitude 36.34 degrees north and longitude 71.05 degrees east.
The tremors caused panic among people who rushed out of their homes. Kashmir is seismologically situated in an earthquake-prone region where temblors have wrought havoc in the past.
Over 80,000 people were killed on the two sides of the Line of Control (LoC) by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake on October 8, 2005.
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