Massive Earthquake Destroys Myanmar's Mandalay, Emergency Declared

Naypyidaw: A very powerful earthquake in Myanmar has caused terrible destruction in Mandalay city. The powerful earthquake of 7.7 magnitude has completely ruined Mandalay. News agency Reuters quoted local people as saying that a large number of buildings collapsed after the powerful earthquake. Mandalay, with a population of about 16 lakh, is the same city where Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was once held prisoner and kept in jail for a long time during the British imperialist rule.

An eyewitness told Reuters that he saw a five-storey building collapse before his eyes. He said that when everything started shaking, we all ran out of the house. People in the city are on the streets and are not able to dare to go inside the houses due to fear. An eyewitness said that a shop has collapsed, inside which many people got trapped.

The epicenter of the earthquake was near Mandalay

A massive earthquake of 7.7 magnitude hit Myanmar on Friday afternoon. Just 12 minutes later, an aftershock of 6.4 magnitude was felt. Tremors of the earthquake were felt in Thailand. The German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said that the depth of the earthquake was 10 kilometers and its epicenter was near Mandalay city. The earth trembled due to the tremors of the earthquake in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw and largest city Yangon.

Emergency imposed in six states

According to the report, the earthquake has had a widespread impact in Mandalay. Many buildings have collapsed in the city. Many roads between Mandalay and Yangon are damaged and broken. The Myanmar Army has declared a state of emergency in the central part of the country. This includes Mandalay and the capital Naypyidaw. Apart from this, emergency has also been declared in Sagaing, Bago, Magway along with Eastern Shan State.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose imprisoned in Myanmar

The city of Mandalay, situated on the banks of the Irrawaddy River, is the cultural and religious capital of Myanmar. About 16 lakh people live here. There are Buddhist monasteries and a huge palace, from where kings once ruled the country. The kings of Myanmar, then known as Burma, lived in the former Royal Palace. In 1885, the British imperialists captured it and the last king had to go to India in exile.

During the British period, Mandalay became a symbol of the atrocities of the British on the Indians. A large number of freedom fighters of India were kept in Mandalay jail. Indian freedom fighter and Azad Hind Fauj leader Subhash Chandra Bose was also kept in Mandalay jail by the British from 1924 to 1927. Netaji considered staying in this jail for three years as an honour, because Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak had been kept in the same jail before him.