With families marooned in Leh,prayer is their only hope now

Tsering Gyaltson has been trying hard to get in touch with his family for the last two days.

Tsering Gyaltson has been trying hard to get in touch with his family for the last two days. The news of flash flood in Leh has left him worried,and his constant efforts to speak to his family have proved to be futile. The BSNL office in Leh has been washed away,which is why landline phones and cellphones are not working. It has been two days and I am still unable to get in touch with them. But I talked to my relatives and they said my family members are fine. I hope to talk to them soon, said Gyaltson,an MA second-year students and joint secretary of Ladakh Students Association.

Like Gyaltson,there are a hundred other Ladakhi students in Chandigarh,who are worried about the well-being of their families,but are helpless. I really want to go home and help my family,but the roads are closed and the air tickets are booked. All I can do is tell them on the phone not to panic and take care of themselves. I am feeling helpless. I wish I could do something, said Sonam Angmo,a BA first-year student.

But there are some whose families have been badly affected by the flood and the chaos that followed. No sooner did I hear about the flood,I rushed to watch the news on TV and saw flashes of destruction. My village was badly hit by flood and I was really worried about the well-being of my family members. My house was washed away,but thankfully,my family is safe, said Stanzin Delex,a first year BSc student of Government College,Sector 11.

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A visibly upset Tsewang Dolma,meanwhile,shares the tale of her relatives missing in the flood. My uncle is fine,but my aunt and nephew are missing. He is still looking for them,but he doesn’t know if they are alive. I hope they are alive, said the Government College,Sector 42 student.

For some,the news of cloudburst and flash flood came as a shock because they hardly expected flood in a cold-desert like Ladakh. Just 15 days ago,I was in Leh. The weather has been really unpredictable this year,but nobody expected this to happen. When I saw the images on TV,I could not believe it was the same Leh. The flood has changed the picture of the city, Dorjay Angchuk told Newsline.

However,uncertainty still prevails in Leh as the weather is still bad. The Met Department has predicted rain for the next two days,but my father said if it continues to rain more,then the houses will collapse. I am praying that it doesn’t rain again. Apart from my family,all the people near to our community had to move to the mountains to spend the night there as per the direction of the Army, said Jigmet Angmo,a GCG College,Sector 11,student.

Many of the students who are still in Leh are voluntarily assisting the Army in rescue operations. Stanzin Angmo,whose house was also affected by flood,went with her friends to help those in need. Of course,I was afraid in the morning,but then I realised there were many in need of help. So,I went out with some of my friends to help the people. We offered food and water to the needy. There is no electricity and there is also shortage of water. However,radio service has resumed from today, Angmo,a student of Jammu University,told Newsline from Leh.

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Meanwhile,students from Ladakh will assemble at the monastery at Khuda Ali Sher on Sunday morning to offer prayers to the flood affected people.

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