Hurricane Harvey: Indian student Nikhil Bhatia cremated in Houston, friend's condition remains critical

Houston: A 24-year-old Indian student who died after he was rescued from a swollen lake in the hurricane-hit US state of Texas, has been cremated in Houston. Nikhil Bhatia, a PhD student at the Texas A&M University, was rescued from the Lake Bryan, where he along with another Indian woman student Shalini Singh had gone swimming, last Saturday. According to their friends and some witnesses, the two were swimming in the lake when a sudden current of water pushed them deeper. [caption id=“attachment_3985739” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of streets flooded by Hurricane Harvey floodwaters. AP[/caption] Bhatia, from Jaipur, along with Singh, 25, from New Delhi, was admitted to a hospital in a critical condition. Bhatia died on Wednesday while Singh continues to be in a critical condition, according to officials at the Indian Consulate in Houston. Singh was pursuing Masters degree in public health from the same university. The funeral of Bhatia took place on Friday in the presence of his mother and close friends. According to the consulate office, Bhatia’s mother Suman Bhatia will returning to India on 4 September and will carry his ashes with her. Bhatia, originally from Jaipur, had completed his schooling from Jaipur and did his engineering in Vellore. He recently graduated from Texas A&M University in water management and hydrological science and had enrolled in a Phd programme for the fall session. Bhatia was the only child of Suman, a lecturer in a government college, and Pradeep Bhatia, a defence staffer. Around 13 million people were battling “catastrophic” flooding and torrential rains in the storm-ravaged Texas where Hurricane Harvey has wreaked havoc, claiming at least 47 lives. According to local community leaders, at least 100,000 Indian-Americans live in and around Houston area have been badly hit by the hurricane. India’s Consul-General in Houston Anupam Ray has been closely monitoring the situation. Hurricane Harvey was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005, ending a record 12-year period with no hurricanes of Category 3 intensity or higher making landfall in the US.