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3 Bihar men return home amid ‘last rites’ by kin who thought they died in the Dharali flash flood
A severe flash flood in the Kheer Ganga river impacted nearly half of Dharali. Several individuals, including army personnel and civilians, are missing.
In Bihar, three men who were thought to be dead in flood-hit Dharali reportedly returned home. The men from a remote village worked as labourers. Their families were making arrangements for their funerals when they returned, turning the heartbreaking moment into a happy one.
According to a Times of India report, Rahul Mukhiya, Munna Mukhiya and Ravi Kumar’s families thought they were dead in the calamity that tore through Dharali on August 5. However, they are alive and returned home safely to Bihar's West Champaran.
What had happened?
According to the outlet, when the families in the remote village couldn’t get any news of their sons, each 19-year-old, they presumed that the young men had died in the flood. However, in reality, the three were not even in the area when the disaster struck.
Three days earlier, they had traveled to Gangotri for a job, which is about 6 km away from the epicenter. During the landslide-induced lake outburst, which started a chain reaction among small waterbodies, triggering a massive flood, the three were safe, but due to the communication issues, they were unreachable.
"There was no mobile signal in Gangotri. We didn't know anyone was looking for us. We didn't even know about the flood," Rahul told TOI.
How did they reach Bihar?
The army reportedly located the trio while carrying out evacuations in and around the affected region. The three men were airlifted to Dehradun, and then they reached Haridwar. Eventually, they returned to their village in Bihar.
Recalling the moment, Munna said, "The Army gave us food, looked after us the whole way," adding, "But we didn't know what we were going back to."
Why did the families decide to hold funerals?
"The survivors told us the flood was so fierce, no one could have lived through it. I waited for news. But nothing came. We prepared an effigy and lit the fire," Munna's father, Ramji Mukhiya, told the outlet. "And then he came back. Just before it was over.”
