The lady who survived Khorong wipeout along with her children

GYALSHING, 28 June: Barsha Rai, who, along with her two children, survived the recent Khorong landslide in which 14 people perished, is currently staying in the rehabilitation camp set up at the Pelling Senior Secondary School staff quarters with other victims.
21-year-old Barsha and her two children were pulled out of the house in the nick of time by her husband who was not inside the house at the time. The family has lost all its belongings to the landslide. The material loss however pales in comparison to the death of Barsha’s father-in-law and mother-in-law in the incident.
Barsha was hit on the head by a small boulder and still shudders in fright when asked to recount incidents of the fateful night. She shares that the downpour was heavy throughout that day and when a small landslide hit the village at around 6 p.m., panicked residents of six of the seven house of the village rushed to her in-laws’ house which everyone felt was sturdy and safe from slides.

Unfortunately, at around 11:30 in the night, a landslide peeled down from 100 metres above the house and buried the house, claiming 14 lives. Only 5 people escaped alive from the ill-fated house.
She adds that the family spent the night huddled inside a nearby cave with no idea of what had befallen the rest of the people and no chance of attempting a rescue. It was a traumatic time.
She further shared that the crew of a Bengali movie shooting in the area had also knocked on the doors of the ill-fated house moments before the slide hit. The crew was stranded by landslides which had already blocked the roads. The house was however already cramped with almost the entire village and no space could be made for the film team.
The residents offered them some blankets and as they moved out, a girl offered to show them the way with a torchlight. The landslide hit at that moment, missing the film crew, but sweeping away the young girl who had come out with the torch.
This, and other harrowing memories of the fateful night haunt the family.
She informs that they have been accommodated in the shelter and have been provided clothes, ration and utensils. The area MLA has also extended them monetary help from his side, but the family which has lost its house and family members to the slide might not qualify for the ex gratia payment since they do not have residence papers.
“Our family has been living here for 20 years but we have not made any papers so we have been denied the ex-gratia payment,” Barsha informs. This, however, will hopefully not remain the case given the extent of their loss.