Those Horrific Days of Disaster

God knows whose evil eye fell upon my beloved mountains, that they were ripped apart in this tragedy. I could feel deep inside me the physical and the mental agony of the people of Uttarakhand, and I was trying my best to combat, however possible, to solve all these problems. Anyhow, I have never learnt to accept defeat, yet the helplessness I felt in these circumstances left me trembling. Some of the unrest I felt at that time, are still fresh in my mind. Perhaps, for some people, these may be mere words printed on paper, but I know the flood of anguished emotions that is enveloping me as I write about my memories, is as painful as ever.

The pain of seeing Uttarakhand destroyed in this disaster was implanted so deep within my heart that in the desire to heal it, I didn't care about the scorching heat, or be scared by the pouring rain, or worry about the broken roads& pathways, or the frequent landslide. Somewhere, the entire ground would sink and at other places debris from the hills would fall right in front of our vehicle. At places we crossed booming waterfalls, and at others we faced rickety bridges. We would not even realise when night fell, but our steps didn't stop. In such a time, how could I think of not visiting Sumgarh? I told my officer that despite any adverse circumstances, and by any means, we must prepare to go to Sumgarh.