Uttarakhand tragedy triggers memories of 2013 floods

The Uttarakhand glacier crash claimed the lives of over 35 people and over 160 are still missing. Agonising are the stories of those who visit the spot every day with the hope that they would find their dear ones alive.

Chamoli: The natural calamity, which struck Joshimath in Uttarakhand, has once again revived the horrifying moments of 2013 floods triggered by a cloudburst, which had claimed the lives of many people. The calamity, which had its roots in Raini and Tapovan, has killed many people, but no one has the accurate number of the toll.

As per the government data, so far the bodies of 35 people have been recovered while over 160 people are still missing. People are thronging Tapovan and Rishiganga in search of their near and dear ones. Two residents of Raini village are also missing.

Breadwinner of a family lost

Ranjit, a resident of Raini village, left his home at eight in the morning to work on the Rishi Ganga Power Project. Ranjit's house is just 500 steps away from the power project. After having breakfast, Ranjit reached the plant in the morning. Though Ranjit is the younger member of his family, the responsibility of the entire family lies on the shoulders of those who have been missing since the disaster struck the area. Ranjit’s father and elder brother are specially-abled.

Ranjit’s elder brother says that on Sunday, as usual, his brother had left home for work, but then suddenly there was a sound of a cloud burst and smoke rising in the sky. When he looked towards the plant, he was shocked to see the devastation. While narrating the incidents, Ranjit's brother was brimming with agony and tried hard to hold back his tears. He did not know that that this disaster could be so worse, which would take everything away from them.

Scared of the noise of the flood, Ranjit’s disabled father and brother ran away from the house towards the forest. Even after the inundation, the people were afraid of coming down from the mountains. When the administration team reached the spot, they told the nearby villagers that the power plant was completely destroyed, leaving them in deep agony.

After many hours they came down and saw a completely devastated Rishiganga power project where Ranjit worked. Ranjit’s brother says that now he is afraid of staying in the room. So the government should help them. The breadwinner of his family has died and he is clueless how his family including specially-abled father, old mother would meet the ends.

Trembled after disaster, family stays awake at night

The story of Godavari, living in Raini village is a similar one. Godavari says that it must have been around 10 am in the morning, when she was working with her mother-in-law on her farm. At that time, suddenly a lot of debris came and took everything away with the wind. Godavari was also a victim of that accident. She says that she does not even remember when she flew away from the field with the wind. When she looked back, the debris had engulfed her mother-in-law.

She says that she did not get so much time that she could reach home and could have alerted her mother-in-law. Godavari somehow reached her home after lying unconscious for hours on the road.

Godavari says that she gets frightened even while thinking of the sound. It is so scary. Fear seems to have gripped her so much that she does not even venture out of her house alone. She does not have the courage to stay inside by closing the door as well. For the past four days, this family is either sleeping on the verandah of the house or is staying awake on the roof of the house and spending the nights.

Families of Ranjit and Godavari hopes that they would be able to get reunited with their near and dear ones who have been missing since the calamity hit the area. They do not know whether their family members are alive or not. As time flies, tension seeps in. They visit the calamity site every day with the hope that they may be able to find out their loved ones.

Relief and rescue operations ongoing

The bursting of glaciers in Joshimath under Chamoli district of Uttarakhand wreaked havoc in Raini village and Tapovan on Sunday morning. This tragedy caused huge damage to the Rishi Ganga Power Project. In fact, the entire power project has been completely destroyed. A portion of the NTPC's under-construction hydropower project has been damaged due to floods.

At the same time, the rescue operation is going on to save more than 30 workers trapped in Tapovan tunnel. The State Government will give Rs 4 lakh each, while the Central government has announced a financial help of Rs 2 lakh for the families who lost their kin. Various teams of the Army, Air Force, NDRF, ITBP and SDRF are working day and night with the local administration for carrying out relief and rescue operations.