A pall of gloom has descended on Rulehar village of Boh panchayat, the hamlet known for producing pure dairy products, where a massive landslide triggered by a flash flood struck on Monday morning.
A steady stream of mourners, who lost their kin in the disaster, was headed to the village even as the rescue workers struggled to find those missing.
Swarn Singh, who lives in a village on the opposite hill, said it was an unusual night for the locals as the rains were unrelenting. “The small stream passing through the village was swollen, but nobody had thought that something like this would happen,” he added.
“There was a huge noise like an explosion before and the hill above the village came crumbling down. It was terrifying,” he recalled.
Brani Devi, a resident of Rulehar, said, “The water was flowing dangerously above normal level. About a dozen people were digging channels to divert the flow.”
“About 11am, Bhimo Ram, who is among the missing and whose house is the first on the top of the village, started screaming and warned the people to run to safety. People outside rushed to a safer spot. However, those who were inside their houses got no time as debris swallowed everything within seconds. Bhimo, who alerted everyone, couldn’t get time to escape and disappeared as huge boulders rolled down the hill,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}“About 11am, Bhimo Ram, who is among the missing and whose house is the first on the top of the village, started screaming and warned the people to run to safety. People outside rushed to a safer spot. However, those who were inside their houses got no time as debris swallowed everything within seconds. Bhimo, who alerted everyone, couldn’t get time to escape and disappeared as huge boulders rolled down the hill,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}Bhimo’s wife Masto Devi’s body was retrieved on Monday night. However, he, along with two other family members, is missing.
Five houses were completely buried under the debris while seven others have been damaged.
Balwan Singh, another resident, said a father-son duo and a 18-month-old girl were also among those missing.
“My neighbour Subhash and his son ran a shop in the village. They had come home to have their meal. Subhash’s other family members were however lucky as they were with his pregnant daughter-in-law admitted to Tanda government hospital,” he added.
₹4-lakh ex gratia for kin of the deceased
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur conducted a survey of Boh to take stock of situation and ongoing search and rescue operation.
Later, he also met the affected families. He directed the district administration to carry out the search operation at war-footing.
Thakur said the state government will provide every possible help to affected family.
Kin of the victim will be given ₹4-lakh ex gratia. “People whose houses have been damaged will also be provided financial assistance for rehabilitation and rebuild their houses,” he added.