The Landslide

We were travelling to Kinnaur in a small jeep the four of us from the army ,a lieutenant and three subedars. We were in uniform. We were posted in Sangla and had to travel to Kinnaur for some work. We did not have any breakfast as we had started very early .We were going to stay overnight so we had packed our belongings told good bye to our families .They were staying in the cantonment quarters that were allotted to us .The kids were fast asleep I bed when we bid our wives goodbye. The day was calm and bright and the four of us Ramdayal Shyam Mohan and Kishan set out on our journey.

We stopped at a dhaba for tea and parathas. There was a good dhaba with cots in the open ,We sat there as the driver needed a break. As were sipping our chai we heard a lot of rumbling and loud cries for help. There had been a landslide in the vicinity and the road ahead was blocked by rubble. We left our cup of teas and went out to help the people.

The house on the slope of the mountain had collapsed. There were three people trapped in the rubble. We helped clear out the rubble There was a man whose leg was trapped in the debris. He was buried deep in the rubble. Ramdayal and I removed the beam which had collapsed on him and freed the man. We had to carry him out because his leg was fractured .We set up a makeshift splint and telephoned the ambulance to take him to hospital. In the meanwhile there were two other people who were trapped who need to be rescued. There was a lady in a saree who was trapped in the kitchen .We freed her .She was shaken and bruised but not hurt deeply.

The national disaster mission rescue task force arrived and they surveyed the area .A lot of buildings many  residences and shops had collapsed. They rescued people from the rubble and cleared the road .They set up a makeshift camp in the primary school which was closed as today was a holiday. Several beds were set up and a lot of people gathered there .Food and water was provided to the people who were affected.

Since the road ahead was not clear and it would take some time for it to be cleared they decided to head home .The drive took another hour and by four they were back at the cantonment. They reported to their senior a major and apprised him of the situation. My kids and wife were delighted to see me home early .They hung onto my arms and my wife fussed over me that no harm had happened to me when they heard about the landslide. Though I had not brought anything for them they were delighted to see me in one piece. Thus we returned home tired and dirty and hungry. I had a bath and my wife cooked me some chicken brought from the canteen which I had to the delight of my tired soul..