Raigad landslide: Lost our dear ones… do not know what lies ahead for us, say survivors

However, the sisters lost their parents and their homes in the fury of the landslide. “I was sleeping near our farm where we used to cultivate Nachni. I managed to escape with four members of my family including my five-year-old son, Cheena Pardhi,”,says Sunita, who is Radhika and Sonu’s aunt.

Women wait for their missing family members in Raigad (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

Even as 14-year-old Radhika spent the night at Nanivali’s Raigad Zilla Parishad school, she is eager to go back to her Mangaon school and resume her classes. “What are the girls going to do now that her parents have died?”, asks Sunita.

Until Friday night, the toll in the landslide touched 22. However, over 100 are still feared missing. While the NDRF called off the operation on Friday night, they are slated to resume their operations, along with members of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF)  as well as local trekkers on Saturday.

Of the few houses which remained affected were the ones where brothers Mangesh Pardhi (21) and Sachin Pardhi (24) lived.

“All members of my family are alive. While our house is unaffected, we felt some stones and mud falling down on the structure. I was sleeping in the kitchen. Our parents who were sleeping in other rooms ran and escaped,” say the brothers, who work as labourers.

Another survivor of the mishap is Bami Pardhi (45) who had gone to a neighbouring village to buy vegetables and decided to stay back at a relative’s place who lived nearby, owing to the torrential rain which struck Raigad district.

Landslide survivors find shelter in a school in Irshalwadi (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

In Pardhi’s family, comprising six members, four managed to escape and sustained minor injuries, while two remained untraced until Friday night.

She says, “I received a call around 11 pm at night. As soon as I heard about the incident, I ran to the spot. I was asked to stay down the hill by the locals. I didn’t know what was happening, I didn’t understand whom to speak to.”

“In the morning when I trekked up the hill, I could not even find my home, let alone people who have been trapped within”, added the 45-year-old. Ravindra Pardhi (25) told The Indian Express that he is unsure whether he wants to go back uphill ever again. He lost one of his brothers in the fury of the landslide, which to him felt like a “blast”.

“Everything happened within a span of two minutes. There was a huge thud and I felt like there had been a blast. My mother and I have been staying in the school but we lost my brother.”

Ravindra’s father Tukaram Pardhi, meanwhile, is receiving care at Kamothe’s MGM hospital. Tukaram is amongst six who were injured and have been admitted to the civic-run institution. While some other injured are recovering at Chowk’s Gramin hospital, many survivors who sustained minor injuries have been receiving medical care at the camps set up in Irshalwadi.