Munish Sood
MANDI:
For more than a month, the residents of Sainj Valley in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh have been living a nightmare.
Continuous heavy rainfall has battered the valley, triggering massive landslides that have wiped out roads, power lines and communication networks. What was once a serene landscape has now turned into an isolated pocket of suffering where thousands of people are cut off from the outside world.
Several villages, including Jeeva, Matla, Nyulin, Raila, Pukhari, Govind, Shati, Lapat, Shanger, Deuri, Balad, Salvad, Talada and Kanan, are cut off. No roads connect them to the valley, no vehicles can enter and no messages can get through. Mobile towers remain non-functional, electricity poles hang twisted and drinking water pipelines lie buried under debris. Families are surviving in complete blackout, some saying it feels like they have been thrown back into the prehistoric era.
Crying for help, but no one is listening
With no government agency reaching them, people have turned to the only tool left — social media.
They walk several kilometres on foot to places where power in available to charge their mobile phones.
From areas where weak mobile internet signals occasionally surface, desperate residents post appeals for help, begging for food, drinking water and medical supplies. Videos and messages show villagers with folded hands, urging authorities to take notice of their plight. “We have nothing left. Please don’t let us die in silence,” one post reads.
Human faces of the crisis
Paras Soni, a student, says, “We study by candlelight when candles are available. Most of the time, there is nothing. Schools are shut, books untouched. It feels like my future has been locked away with the landslides.”
Anil Khatri, a teacher, says, “Children are paying the heaviest price. An entire generation is sitting idle. We are losing precious months, and nobody seems to care.”
Pawan Bansal, a student, posts, “I used to dream of becoming an engineer. Now my biggest dream is to attend even one class again.”
Tushar Chauhan, a businessman, says, “My shop is empty. No supplies, no customers. I have lost everything. Even my family is living on whatever little is grown locally.”
Khem Singh, an agriculturist, says, “The rains swallowed my fields. I can’t grow food, I can’t sell anything. We survive on whatever is left, but it will not last long.”
Vikal Sood, a contractor, says: “We cannot even rebuild because no machinery or labor can reach us. Every single effort collapses with the next rainfall. We are living under constant fear.”
Families on the edge
Homes have collapsed, fields have been destroyed, cattle swept away and many families forced into unsafe makeshift shelters. Those still in their homes are relying only on home-grown produce, stretching every grain and vegetable to survive.
Drinking water is scarce and hygiene conditions are worsening. Each day is an exercise in survival; each night a test of fear as landslides continue to rumble across hillsides.
What makes the tragedy harsher is the absolute absence of administrative presence. No relief convoys have reached the villages. No medical teams have been dispatched. The people of Sainj Valley are effectively invisible to the government machinery. While neighbouring regions have seen occasional evacuations and assistance, these villages remain completely abandoned, alleged a resident.
Repeated attempts to contact the SDM and Tehsildar concerned proved futile as their mobile phones were switched off or unreachable.
