The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Himachal cloudburst: 9 from family of 11 members missing
ASHOK KUMAR Kedarta ( 42) and his 6- year- old step- nephew Monu are the only survivors of an 11member family that lost 9 members following the cloudburst in Samej Khad, Himachal Pradesh.
Their houses were also washed away along with many other structures in the village. In the five cloudbursts — three in Kullu and one each in Mandi and Shimla — at least 50 have gone missing. Of them, eight bodies of missing persons were found in Kullu and Mandi.
With rescue operations underway, Kedarta has little hope of finding his kin alive but wishes their bodies could be retrieved so he could perform the last rites.
“There is no trace of my wife Anita Devi ( 38) my two children - Mukesh ( 19) and Yogpriya ( 11) - my brother Surat Ram, who is Monu’s grandfather, his wife Santosh Kumari ( 50) his son Neera Kedarta, Monu’s father, and his elder brother Sonu. All those present in the house on Wednesday night are not with us anymore. And those who were not there are standing before you,” Kedarta told The Indian Express.
“I left my house, leaving behind my wife and two children in our single- story house to meet a relative who lives at a higher altitude location Wednesday. I boarded a local bus around 5: 30 pm. Around 1 am, I got a call from a relative informing me about the incident. When I returned, everything was ruined. My step- nephew Monu, along with his sister and mother Priti, was at their maternal home in a nearby village.”
Mukesh and Yogpriya were students at Government Senior Secondary School Samej. They are among the 33 missing in Shimla.
Rajesh Kumar Kedarta, who also lost four relatives in the cloudburst, said, “At least four houses in the village Kanradar, which were washed away, belonged to Kedarta family members. Ashok, who lost his wife and two children, and little Monu are the only two members in their immediate family. A guest, Ved Raju, who came to visit Surat Ram is also missing."
At some distance, a wailing Chint Devi ( 70) was being consoled by women. Champo Devi, one of those consoling Chint Devi, said, “Chint Devi lost all her distant relatives from her husband’s side. Though she had a house in village Kanradar, which was washed away, she has been residing in the nearby sub- town Jhakri with her son, a government employee there.”
In 72 hours of rescue efforts, no one has been found as yet. SP ( Shimla) Sanjeev Gandhi said, “Though mutilated body parts were recovered from a location, it cannot be said with certainty that the parts belong to any of missing people. Efforts are ongoing to trace the missing people.”