M A I N   N E W S

2 buried in landslide in Kulu district
M.C. Thakur
Our Correspondent

Manali, July 24
Two members of a Nepalese family were buried alive when the house in which they were living collapsed due to flash floods in Podu-Ra-Nullah at Bahang on the Manali-Leh border road, 4 km from here, today at 7.30 a.m. The deceased have been identified as Reena (24), wife of Mr Bhagat Bahadur, and Shanker (4), son of Mr Bahadur, a Nepalese national.

Besides two cows and a calf were also killed when the flood water from Podu-Ra-Nullah gushed into the house and the cow shed owned by Mr Jindu Ram and Mr Nokhu Ram, local residents. An eight-bigha apple orchard, owned by Mr Jindu Ram and Mr Nokhu Ram, was also swept away in the floods while a number of kiosks occupied by labourers from the PWD and the BRO, besides two residential buildings were also destroyed in floods that caused unprecedented devastation at Bahang.

Two newly built toilets of Government Primary School, Bahang, at a cost of Rs 25,000, also got demolished in the floods and the boundary wall of the school developed cracks.

Ms Phul Maya rescued Dolma (6), daughter of Mr Bahadur, from the ill-fated house when she heard the alarm raised by Dolma. Ms Maya immediately picked Dolma up and took her out from the house that was swept away within minutes. Ms Maya said she along with six of her family members had a narrow escape as they immediately rushed out of the house to a safer place.

Others who lost their belongings were Raj Kumar, Neer Kumar, Ram Bahadur, Norbu, Sanu Kancha, Roshan Lal, Ram Nath, Pooja, Savitri, Maili, and Babu Ram. The loss of property is estimated in lakhs, including damage to residential houses, apple orchards and kiosks belonging to the labourers.

It is learnt that the nullah caused the havoc when its water got blocked in the meadows of the Bhrigu slopes due to heavy rain and afterwards, all of a sudden, it got released destroying houses, orchards etc.

Mr R.K. Gautam, Subdivisional Magistrate here, accompanied by the police, a medical team and firemen reached the scene of the tragedy and supervised the rescue operation. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr R. D. Nazeem, and the SP, Kulu, Mr A.P. Singh, later reached the scene and took stock of the relief and rescue work.

The Deputy Commissioner told mediapersons that Army jawans from a transit camp at Palchan, personnel from the SASE (Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment) fire station and rescue men from the Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, were deployed to pull out the bodies of the deceased from the debris. He said the overflowing nullah was disrupting the prompt rescue operations by various agencies.

The SP, Kulu, has appealed to those living near rivers and nullahs to immediately shift to safer places in view of the heavy rain in the valley for the past many days.

The SDM said Rs 25,000 each had been provided as immediate relief to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 5000 each to those who had lost their belongings in the floods.

Meanwhile, the flood-affected families have been shifted to Government Senior Secondary School, Manali, Government High School, Bahang, and other safer places. According to Mr Manjit Singh, secretary of the gurdwara at Manali, a langar had been started with the help of the administration for the flood victims at the gurdwara. The bodies of the deceased had not been extricated till the filing of this report.