Twelve days after the August 6 flashfloods washed away habitations and livelihood avenues in Leh, the town today reported its first flood-related suicide.

Sixty-five-year old Mohammad Salim, a readymade garment retailer in New Bus Stand area, which still stands under 14 feet high mud and slush, was yesterday night found hanging from a willow in his rented accommodation in downtown Leh. He was last seen in the market on the morning of August 7 when he came down to assess the damages to his “Poona Fancy Readymade Shop”, established three years ago.

The shop is down to ruins with nothing of it left even though Salim, his neighbours say, managed to pull out two leftover handcrafted stoles from the remains. “He looked sad and had even employed labourers to restore the shop. But soon he realized that wasn’t possible. Since that day we didn’t hear of him. He had taken some loans and was distressed having lost the shop.

He was a migrant from Karnataka and had come here to make a living,” Wasim, a vegetable vendor next to Salim’s shop, said. The deceased’s landlord said Salim was paying an annual rent of Rs 60,000 for two shops.

Sub-Inspector Jigmet Lotus confirmed to The Tribune that Salim’s was the first case of flood-related suicide in the city. “We have information that he had lost hope after his shop was damaged by the floods. We came to know of the death when his friends reported his absence from work. When we went to his house it was locked from inside and stinking. He must have taken the extreme step three-four days ago… It’s a call to us to look after Ladakhis who are under tremendous stress after the floods,” he said.

The police today flashed a signal to Gokak tehsil in Karnataka - Salim’s native place. That he died in the Holy month of Ramzan is even more tragic. He was alone here and nothing is known of his family. The body is lying in the civil mortuary, but nobody has come to claim it so far. Notably, Salim’s death poses the urgent question of addressing psycho-social needs of a flood-ravaged population. Across a stretch of 45 kilometre out of Leh, shops are damaged and full of slush. Migrants are worried that they may not get any claims.