FIFTY years ago, Killari village in Latur district of Maharashtra was famous for its long-horned bulls. "Bullfights were held every year and the bulls of our village always emerged champions," recalls septuagenarian Baburao Umte. Now, the village is being regarded as the "earthquake capital" of the world.

After the September 30 quake, lunatic rumours flew around that pots of gold were buried under several houses. Killari became the new eldorado and people thronged to the village in search of the yellow metal. Even today, people make surreptitious visits to sift through the debris. They even talk of ghosts clawing the rubble for their gold.

Some villagers claim that they had sensed the impending disaster. Says Jilani Suleman Mulla, "We had felt some shocks and heard rumblings." The area had been hit by a mild tremor in October 1992. S Parsalge, sarpanch of Killari, says, "No one paid any attention until we lost our houses and relatives. Only 4 persons got Rs 4,000 as compensation and the rest got less than Rs 1,000. Besides, we were not asked to shift."

Maharashtra chief minister Sharad Pawar, however, says that the villagers turned down an offer of relocation. "The villagers who lost their houses were given Rs 10,000 each and were asked to shift from the area," say Anil Pawar, district collector of Osmanabad, and Nitin Gadre, additional district collector of Latur.

As is usual, some people might stand to profit from the disaster. A boom in construction activities is imminent. It has also been suggested, somewhat ghoulishly, that Killari be developed as a "field model" for future earthquake studies. "All the houses should be left untouched, barring some newly constructed ones. An auditorium, a canteen and a rest house should be constructed so that scientists from all over the world can meet for discussions," a scientist suggested.

The hospitality sector has also perked up. Although hotels have raised their tariffs and scores of new ones have come up, there is a paucity of rooms. Some contractors and agents have camped there for the past 3 months, waiting to net the boom. Car owners are also making a quick buck. Restaurants and bars have mushroomed.

Land prices have gone up and milk prices have skyrocketed. In a manner similar to that after the fall of the Berlin Wall, souvenir shops are making money selling stones from the rubble of collapsed houses.