Forester shares experience of earthquake seconds and long hours after at Lachung

Aerial view of Lachung

GANGTOK, 28 Sept: Forest Guard Ashok Gurung and his colleagues Dawgey Bhutia, Bhola Nath Dangal and Pravin Baraily were on duty at Lachung when the earthquake struck on 18 September. Being among the few men in uniform in the affected area, the team, led by their BO, Karma Sonam, were among the first to begin rescue operations. FG Gurung was flown to Gangtok on 26 Sept after sustaining injuries during rescue operations.
Sharing details about the scene at Lachung immediately after the earthquake struck, the Forest Guard informs that he was on patrolling duty at the time.
“We were in a vehicle when the earthquake struck and it was only when were violently shaken that we realised that something was drastically wrong. That is when the crash of falling trees and rolling debris mixed with the cries of women and children reached us,” he recalls.
For him and his colleagues, the night was very long. They began rescue operations immediately alongside the police personnel on duty and the locals. People from unstable homes were first evacuated to the Forest guest house. They soon noticed that even the guest house had sustained severe damage and it was then that everyone decided to move to the monastery.
“There was a complete blackout, we had to work aided only by the glow of mobile phones. It was not easy to evacuate people to safer locations like the Lachung monastery. There were slides throughout and most of the time we were feeling our way across landslides to reach the monastery. There was total chaos because of the roads were blocked at several places. Everyone was scared but we kept our nerves and followed orders,” recalls the FG.
He was injured during a similar evacuation effort the next day, 19 September, Monday. It was only on Sunday that he was flown out.
He was busy at work coordinating with people from the other departments when a boulder crushed his feet.
“We were making way for people to cross by diverting a small stream which was also posing a serious threat to houses in the area. It was then that a boulder rolled down crushing my feet. There is also a slide here which was the main cause of the destruction in Lachung,” he adds.
While relating the situation at Lachung when he left, the Forest Guard details that the area near Apple Valley was among the most affected with four houses completely damaged there.
He however reiterates that the earthquake and the landslides which followed claimed no lives in Lachung.
“Every agency is working on a war footing and relief works are underway. There are however many villages around Lachung from where news is coming in slow as people are walking down. There is bound to be damage elsewhere around the valley and beyond. I just want my feet to heal fast so that I can return to Lachung and assist the rebuilding works there,” he concludes.