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Kedarnath tragedy: 9 years later, survivors and families recall the dreadful day
PUNE “It is still difficult for all of us to believe the news we got nine years back, but I hope she is alive and will return home,’’ said Sudhir Kale, whose wife went missing in the Kedarnath tragedy on June 16, 2013
PUNE “It is still difficult for all of us to believe the news we got nine years back, but I hope she is alive and will return home,’’ said Sudhir Kale, whose wife went missing in the Kedarnath tragedy on June 16, 2013.
As per Kale, his wife Nilima and other passengers had left for Haridwar on June 10 for the Char Dham Yatra along with others. The group had reached Kedarnath on June 16 and was waiting for their turn for the ‘darshan’ when the strategy stuck and they lost contact with their families.
“Last time my daughter spoke to her mother was on June 15 at 7:30 pm. She told me it was raining there, but there is no need to worry as they all are safe,’’ said Kale.
Till last year Kale and his friends went every year in search of his wife to Kedarnath. “I haven’t lost hope,’’ said Kale.
Under Section 108 of the Indian Evidence Act 1872, a missing individual for over seven years is assumed dead. In 2021 Kale got the death certificate of his wife and ₹5.5 lakh as compensation.
“A piece of paper never decides who is alive and who is dead,” he said.
Similar is the fate of Mayur Bhadale, whose grandmother Vimal Jadhav (62) went missing after the tragedy. Many of the relatives went to Kedarnath to find their loved ones only to return empty-handed.
“We got the news on June 17 and my uncle and our relatives left the next day to look for my grandmother,’’ said Bhadale. “Many of the group members came back alive a few days after the tragedy,” he said.
Pratibha Mahadeokar (55), from Shivane along with a group of 150 pilgrims were in great spirits after offering prayers to Lord Shankar at the Kedarnath shrine. Most of the members spent the night at a lodge. On June 16 morning at about 7.00 am, Pratibha heard people shouting and asking for help. The group members entered the lodge on the fourth floor. What they saw will stay with them for the rest of their lives. “We saw a massive mudslide sparked by a cloudburst causing destruction,” said Mahadeokar.
“We were stranded for almost eight days. We saw dead bodies lying here and there. There were very few options left to save ourselves from the extreme cold conditions. We got only one food packet in a day it was very difficult to spend the whole day with little food left,” she said.
The stranded pilgrims spent two days without food. Each individual used to get one water bottle for the whole day. The pilgrims had to suffer and they even lost hope of returning home alive. Out of 150, only 50 pilgrims were evacuated from the route to Kedarnath.
Mahadeokar claims she got only ₹2,000 as compensation from the government. Mahadeokar said, “This incident though us a lot, we divided one meal among ten people to stay alive.”
Another survivor Narayan Kakade (60) from Hadapsar said, “We were about to start our journey when all of a sudden there was thunder and water started gushing down. Within minutes a serene and surreal place turned into a roaring nightmare.’’
“Many pilgrims were asking for help but at a place where everyone is running to save their life, who would help others,” Kakade questioned.
Kakade recalls, “I had to stay hungry most of the time but now I feel lucky to have made my way back home.’’
Mahadeokar and Kakde had gone to Kedarnath in a package tour along with 150 other pilgrims, but unfortunately, only 50 pilgrims survived and returned home.
On June 16, 2013, flash floods hit the Kedarnath valley, claiming over 4,000 lives. Over nine years since this catastrophe, thousands of people lost their lives, lakhs lost their livelihood, thousands turned homeless, and none have any idea as to how many actually died during the calamity.
