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Hope of reuniting with kin fades as receding water uncovers trail of destruction
Over 30 people have gone missing in the Rampur subdivision of Shimla district, one of three places where cloudbursts and resultant floods wreaked havoc
Waking up to the sound of incessant rain and rattling windows is how several residents of Samej and the neighbouring hamlets recall Wednesday night, right before a cloudburst led to flash floods in the area.
Over 30 people have gone missing in the Rampur subdivision of Shimla district, one of three places where cloudbursts and resultant floods wreaked havoc.
With another body being found in Mandi’s Padhar, the second location of the cloudburst, the toll has now risen to nine. Four people still remain missing in Mandi, while searches are also underway in Kullu’s Nirmand.
Sumit Kedarta, a resident of Sarpara, said that the entire village is in shock. “Water has washed away everything, homes, schools and roads, but those can be rebuilt. It is the loss of lives of our loved ones that has hit us the hardest.”
Kedarta says 16 to 17 members of the extended family went missing on the night of the floods. While the elderly, the grandmother and grandfather, remain hopeful of being reunited with the missing members of their family, the optimism wanes with every passing hour.
A sense of resignation has begun to sink in as the rescue operations entered the third day. A government school in Samej was also washed away and many kids of that also went missing from their homes after the disaster.
Their classmates and juniors can hardly come to terms with the losses. “We have not been able to trace a senior who used to help me with studies since Wednesday night,” a Class 8 student who resides in the village said.
The situation is dire in other parts too. The two bodies found in Mandi’s Padhar on Friday were those of children, Aman and Aryan, both aged under 10.
In total, searches continue for over 40 people across the state, with the central and state machinery doing their very best.
Chief minister (CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has announced relief, including free ration, rental allowances and immediate financial assistance of ₹50,000.
“The state is going everything they can, but the impact that the losses have had on those who have lost their loved ones goes far beyond numbers,” Monika Sharma, another resident Rampur says with the prevailing sense of despair.
