Himachal tunnel collapse: For worker Hriday Ram’s family, grief is beyond words

A lone bread-earner of a twin family, with two wives and eight children, Hriday Ram had joined the Himalayan Construction Company only a week before the tragedy. Now, the real worry back home is the future of the family if he doesn’t come out alive. Two of his children, a son and daughter, are still in school. Rest all, including daughters, are married.

Ram’s family has not eaten since Saturday and a few members have fallen sick. A complete sense of disbelief and shock prevails in the his twin-family at his native village in Mandi district, 60 kms from here.

His son-in-law Shiv Ram, an army personnel, says he was perhaps the only person whom his father-in-law spoke over phone last night on Saturday before entering the tunnel for his afternoon shift.

“He just told me, my son, just take care of yourself. My time is up for my shift. Then, he switched off his cell phone,” Shiv Ram says recollecting last words.

Now, even as the two other trapped men – Satish Tomar and Mani Ram, are in constant touch and communicating with the district administration, the family of Hriday Ram, is waiting endlessly to hear any news about his wellbeing.

“We have no quarrels why agencies are focusing on two other survivors and why there is not a single word on third missing worker. We also have no complains. The administration – both Deputy Commissioner and SP (Bilaspur) are doing their best. They are reassuring us repeatedly. I think it’s our bad luck, he (Hriday Ram) is nowhere in contact,” says Pankaj, his nephew.

An ex-servicemen, Hriday Ram, was a well experienced man in the tunnelling operations. He had worked at Kol Dam project—recently commissioned at Bilaspur by NTPC. Before this, he worked at Larji project in Kullu and worked for six years at NHPC’s Uri Hydel Project in extremely tough conditions in Jammu and Kashmir. Thus, his family is finding it hard to believe he could not survive the tragedy. “He used to feel at home working in the tunnels.Don’t know why God is taking this test?” says Jagdish Kumar, his another son-in-law.

The family members, including some women, are camping at a make-shift tent 200 meters away from the tunnel. Their wait, perhaps, will never be over even after two other survivors meet their families in next few few hours.