Leh-post cloudburst-story-4--The village that disappeared

The battered model village
Jupinderjit Singh writes from Leh

After performing a daredevil balancing act on the wooden logs laid to cross the Saboo River, we sat on a small structure, only to get up with a start when my local guide revealed that before August 6, the ‘small structure’ was the rooftop of a two-storied house.

The quantum of the tragedy that struck Saboo village was clear to us that moment. As many as 14 persons died in the wee hours of August 6, as Saboo River, an otherwise small rivulet, went on rampage taking along several houses, burying houses under mud and rocks, and tossing cars and trees away, twisting them in mad fury.

As we stood near the two-storey house, now reduced just to one or two feet above ground level, we looked upward and saw a steep slope of rock and sand. “Where is the village?” I asked.

“It was here only. This slope was formed by the river,” said Tsewang Gailten, a Political Science lecturer and my local guide, pointing at the boulders and rocks. Underneath those, were the once vibrant streets and houses of Saboo village.

This was the favourite village of former President Abdul Kalam Azad, who four years ago laid the foundation of developing it as the model village of Ladakh.

It is the same village where all relatives of Survine Yustoy, who is studying in Jammu, were killed by a single stroke of nature. She lost her parents, brother and a pregnant sister, who had reached her maternal house just a day before the incident. Then, there is the tale of another girl, Tsering Dolma, who is also studying in Jammu. Her friend Yangdol lost three relatives.

Many Ladakhi students, worried about the fate of their family and relatives had given their addresses and names to The Tribune team hoping to find them hale and hearty. As one writes this story, one wonders how to call them and tell the tragic end of their near and dear ones. During the fateful night when a cloudburst in lower Leh, especially on Mane Tseling colony, occurred, the giant river of water and mud swept towards the Choglamsar village, wiping away the bus stand, the BSNL office, the radio station and damaging the hospital. At the same time, Saboo River, too, went on rampage destroying the village and forest and eventually taking it all to Choglamsar village, which was destroyed the most.

“Saboo village with little over one thousand population was developing fast. Every house had a car or two and children were studying in Jammu, Delhi or Chandigarh. It seems someone cast an evil eye on it,” said Gailtsen.

Fear of evil eyes, bad luck or devils is quite common here with people hoisting flags having inscription of mantras on rooftops all over Ladakh.

As we slowly climbed up, we passed across ITBP jawans who were busy clearing way to a house whose only upper storey could be accessed, while at other places, people had employed local labourers to clear the mess.

We also saw cars that were either buried under sand and debris or were tossed and twisted against walls and tress by the furious river. Then there were boards of an under-construction market, buildings and complexes where a hospital, a library, a college or a school was to come up as per the dream of the former President.

The dream is surely going to take longer time now than expected.

Immediate challenge is to construct houses with whatever aid is reaching, save crops and food for the harsh winter that is just one and a half month away. Reconstruction of the model village would require huge effort from the state and Centre government.