| KaleKrishna |
Posted
on 17-Jul-03 07:14 AM
Scores of our bretherns died in one of nature's fury, but rest of us either seems ignorant about the fake or simply overlook it. The news is yet to appear, is it only because they were poor Nepalese destined to die unknown as they lived.
Let us pray for the departed souls and courage to the survivors to overcome the grief.
Survivors trying to come to terms with tragedy
JAGDISH BHATT
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2003 06:40:51 PM ]
KULLU: Their eyes have run dry, their movements monotonous as they stare at the waters of the Pulian nullah, the fury of which, in one brief moment, has brought unending grief to their lives. In the debris and havoc caused by the flashfloods which seems to be all prevailing, they still hope against hope, that not all would have been embraced by the icy hands of death and some of those reported missing will turn up.
They appear to be moving like zombies, still trying to come to terms with the stark reality of the tragedy that hit them over 24 hours back. Unconcerned of their requirements, unmoved by the helping hand of the district administration and the ITBP personnel and not bothered to even trace their little valuables and possessions carried downstream by the wall of water that came cascading down, they appear in a trance still, not knowing what to do, where to go.
But in between their sobs of pain and grief at having lost everything, the one prevailing thought seems to be that of returning to their homeland, back in Nepal. On this solemn occasion, they need a shoulder to weep on, someone to share the grief with, and above all some one to console them of the fact that there is life still ahead.
The lure of coming to India to make quick money and return home rich has been a dream sold to the Gurkhas living in the interior villages of Nepal by labour contractors, who cater to the labour-force needs of the number of contractors and sub-contractors at the various hydel power project sites in this tiny hill state.
Some of the injured told this correspondent that the contractor normally comes to the villages in the interiors of Nepal and lures the villagers into making a quick buck. It is usually a time-bound contract, mostly for a year, after which the person is given a certain amount of money, which varies from individual to individual.
Almost none at the Pulian nullah recollect of any warning signals, and those who survived have noe but their stars to thank. There have been rains, torrential ones at that in the region in the past, but a cloudburst was something they did not imagine even in their wildest dreams.
The waters of the nullah which rose to over 20 feet in a matter of minutes came cascading down like a wall of water with tremendous velocity carrying everything in its way. Giant trees snapped like match sticks, huge boulders rolled down like marbles, the equipment and machinery of the construction companies at the working site were lifted off the ground and the sound of the gushing waters drowned every cry of pain, anguish and for help.
The hundreds of villagers that have descended to the site to provide relief and succour and also assist in the relief and rescue operations are themselves shocked at the site in front of them. "The work site jostled with activity and we were looking forward to an approach road when the bridge would have been completed, but what we are looking at now is devastation beyond what we have ever seen" said a resident of Manihaar, a village nearby
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