Visakhapatnam, July 14, 2013: Nearly a month after the tragedy in Uttarakhand, Mugu Surya Prakasa Reddy of Malkapuram in the city is yet to come to terms with the reality. His daughter’s wedding is barely one-and-a-half month away but he breaks down as he recalls how fate had dealt a cruel blow to his family.

Reddy (48), his wife Hemalatha (43), his sister G. Lakshmi (32), her husband Gondesi Venkata Ramana (41) and their (Lakshmi’s) twin sons Nikhil and Nikin (aged 9 years) reached Haridwar on June 13. They had darshan of the deity at Uttarakhand twice on June 15. The inclement weather made them stay back for the night and the next morning they had to leave in a hurry as the hotel manager warned them of the impending danger. “There was six inches of freezing cold water on the path as we started trekking down cold. The children complained of numbness in their feet. We reached Ram Bhar (7 km down from Kedarnath) by 11 a.m. While my sister and others stayed back to have breakfast, I and my wife walked further down and found a bridge washed away and people crossing over to the other side with great difficulty. We saw people being washed away by the swirling waters in front of our eyes and didn’t dare to cross the stream.”“On June 17 morning, my sister and her husband arrived weeping, saying that their sons were missing. I asked my wife, sister and brother-in-law to stay back as I crossed the stream and managed to climb the hill slope on the other side in search of the children. I lost my way in the forest and suffered bruises all over my body. On 18^th morning, I started walking along with some other pilgrims and reached Gouri Kund by 4 p.m.” “The next morning I was airlifted along with some other pilgrims and by noon I found myself at the Himalaya Hospital.” Reddy’s sister and brother-in-law later found their sons but his wife was washed away in the flood. “When I refused to believe them, my brother-in-law showed one of anklets of my wife which he removed from the body which they found in a pool of slush and mud,” he said.

“My wife was always worried about our daughter’s marriage and now, when the wedding has been fixed for August 29, she is no more to witness the same,” laments Mr. Reddy.

Source: The Hindu, DT. July 14, 2013.