Loved ones lost, houses destroyed & fields swept away, Mandi villagers in despair

Devastation and despair are clearly visible as one sets foot in the Seraj Assembly constituency in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh that was ravaged by flashfloods recently.

The flashfloods and landslides have destroyed what was once a happy and scenic countryside. The sight of people mourning the loss of their loved ones, some sitting by the side of their damaged or destroyed houses, and washed-away orchards and fields is painful.

Almost everyone you run into has lost someone or something in the disaster. The once-peaceful Daizy village now stands as a haunting symbol of tragedy. A devastating cloudburst and flashfloods tore through the village on the midnight of June 30, sweeping away homes, hopes and hearts. Among the worst-hit were the families of Inder Singh and Mukesh, who lost 11 members in the disaster.

For Inder Singh, a humble tailor, the pain is unbearable. The floodwaters stole his entire world — his wife and three daughters, all gone without a trace. What remains is a pile of debris where his home once stood.

Inder cannot bear to return to that place, where every stone whispers memories of his children’s laughter and his wife’s voice calling them in. “I have lost everything,” he murmurs, eyes vacant, voice hollow. “There’s no reason left to live.”

On that fateful day, he was away from his home.

Just a few houses away, Mukesh sits in silence, grappling with a heartbreak no father should endure. Days before the disaster, his son had pleaded with him not to travel to Thunag. His daughter Urvashi (3) and son Suryansh (9), wife Bhuwaneshwari and parents were all gone in the deluge. The silence in his home is deafening. “I heard their voices for the last time on a call,” Mukesh says, unable to hold back tears. “Now, there’s nothing but silence.”

Villagers recall the horror of that night — the roar of water, the screams, the darkness. Entire homes were swallowed by the earth, fields turned into sludge and dreams drowned in the current. What remains are fractured families and a village weighed down by sorrow.

The authorities have launched rescue and relief operations, but for these families, no aid can replace what was lost. Trauma lingers like fog in Daizy, where smiles have vanished and conversations begin and end in tears.

As many as 34 houses were damaged in Daizy village, which is inaccessible due to road disconnection.

Similarly, in Bada panchayat, Kamal Dev lost two members of his family in the disaster. “I lost two members of my family and the house is completely damaged. Now, we are taking refuge in a relief camp,” he said.

Meanwhile, 30 families of Sharan village are also going through an emotional turmoil. The once-gentle stream turned into a raging flashflood, swallowing homes, fields, cattle and, with it, the dreams of an entire village. Though no lives were lost, the emotional and material devastation is overwhelming.

“It was a dreadful night,” recalls Bharat Raj Thakur, eyes heavy with trauma, voice trembling. “My house was reduced to rubble. My wife, parents and three children were trapped in the debris. Somehow, I pulled five of them out, but my daughter Tunuja was nowhere to be found.”

Miraculously, 16-year-old Tuneja clawed her way out of the debris and ran barefoot into the forest in search of safety. “I thought I was going to die,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “I was trapped under wood and stones. I could not breathe. But I did not give up. I just kept trying until God showed me a way out.”

She rejoined her family at sunrise, bruised but alive — a rare glimmer of hope amidst the wreckage.

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