Bal Bahadur, who lost his 22-year-old brother in the flood, does not know how he will console his family.
“We brought a house in May for Rs 300,000 and my brother and I decided to go to Kedarnath, a popular Hindu shrine in India, to work as porters pay off the loan incurred in the purchase. Barely a month after we started work in India, I have lost my brother,” he said.
According to him, the settlement around Kedarnath temple was swept way after nearby Basuki Lake burst all of a suddenly due to the torrential rain that continued over two days. “A rolling boulder injured my brother and I had to watch him die due to cold and lack of treatment,” he rued. “I have had to return home alone,” he said.
Similarly, out of a group of 12 youths from Sivarath-5 in Salyan district who had gone to India last month in search of employment, only four have returned. The other eight died in the Kedarnath flood.
According to Bhagi Ram Budhathoki, one of the survivors in the group, most of his colleagues died of cold. “We had to climb uphill to save ourselves from the flood and my friends died due to cold at night,” he said.
According to Budhathoki, those who died of cold are Krishna Prasad Oli, Ganesh Chand, Chattan Singh Gharti, Netralal KC, Tikaram KC, Nara Bahadur KC, Abir Oli and Bir Bahadur Oli.
Every year in this pilgrimage season, many Nepali youths head toward Kedarnath as they can earn a good amount carrying older pilgrims to the temple, which is located uphill. According to Budhathoki, one can earn 4,000 Indian rupees daily on average carrying the pilgrims piggy-back up to the temple.
“I spent three days atop a hill after the flood. The scene was very frightening with dead bodies scattered wherever you looked,” Tek Bahadur Oli of Bafukhola-6 said.
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