'Will we also die?' Horrors of the devastating rains in Himachal Pradesh

The state of Himachal Pradesh has been witnessing torrential rain for the past three days, causing the death of over 70 people. Rain-related incidents have also caused unprecedented damage, with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu terming the work of rebuilding infrastructure a “mountain-like challenge”. Describing the magnitude of the destruction, Sukhu said that his state will take a year to rebuild the infrastructure wrecked by the heavy rains this monsoon and claimed that the estimated loss in the two devastating spells of heavy rains – this week and in July – is about Rs 10,000 crore. But to understand just how bad the rains have been, a Shimla-based PTI journalist recounts a chat with his daughter during which his six-year-old also said, “Will our house too break, papa”. “Will we also die, will our house too break, papa,” my six-year-old daughter asked as the horror of the devastating rains in Shimla hit home on Independence Day. Our family had rushed out after hearing a deafening roar. There were screams as the side of a hill barely 100 metres from our home, across a nullah, slid. A couple of multi-storey houses, some makeshift homes and a slaughterhouse were buried under the rubble. [caption id=“attachment_13008622” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Indian Air Force personnel conduct rescue operation to save stranded residents in flood-affected areas of Himachal Pradesh. PTI[/caption] Our daughter was already upset when this landslide in Krishnanagar locality took place. Two girls, studying in nursery and class 2 at her school, had died Monday when a landslip buried a Shiv temple in Summer Hill locality. But for us the landslide nearer home was more heartbreaking, even if the casualties were far fewer than in the one at the Shiv temple. The Krishnanagar houses had begun showing cracks and most people had evacuated hours earlier. Minutes later, when I reached the spot, people who had lost their homes were howling. A woman ran around barefoot, searching for her husband. An employee at the slaughterhouse – the building below the houses on the hillside – was looking for his manager. “I can see a hand,” a man said. Rescue workers had a tough time keeping people away as mud continued to slide. “Should I touch your feet, only then would you leave?” a rescue worker told a local resident. Also read: Himachal Pradesh death toll rises: What is behind the hill state’s recent spell of rains? Shaken by the landslide, people in adjoining homes that were still standing too began to leave, carrying away whatever they could. A small girl held a bag as she sobbed. A man carried his old mother on his shoulders. I too left to file the report. There was no electricity at my home-office and several other Shimla localities for two days, and I typed on my phone. Every now and then it needed to be plugged into the car-charger. Later, two bodies were pulled out of the rubble. One of them, a police officer told me, had been decapitated. [caption id=“attachment_13008382” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] People pull a vehicle to a safer place after a landslide following heavy rainfall, in Shimla. PTI[/caption] Battered by three days of rain, the Himachal Pradesh capital tells a tale of destruction. There have been other smaller landslips. The city is dotted with fallen trees and snapped power lines. Cracks have appeared on roads and several buildings are at risk. Cart Road, which encircles Shimla, is blocked due to two landslides, which it is feared might lead to the collapse of some endangered buildings. On Mall Road, tourists are missing. Over 30 people have died in Shimla district. The state-wise toll over three days of rains crossed 70 on Wednesday, and more bodies needed to be pulled out of rubble. With inputs from PTI