Dreams shattered: Georgia deaths wreck homes in state

All of deceased were employees of a restaurant, Haveli, at a ski resort in Gudauri

- HT Correspondents

JALANDHAR/PATIALA/FARIDKOT/BATHINDA/LUDHIANA/AMRITSAR/SANGRUR: Amrinder Kaur moved from her family home in a remote village near Patiala to a land of unknowns nine years ago. She made the 3,000km trip to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, in 2015, and toiled at a restaurant in the Gudauri ski resort, chipping away at the barriers that stood in the way of hopes for a better future.

Those dreams were snuffed on a bitterly cold Saturday morning. Kaur (32) was among 11 Indian nationals, all from Punjab, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning at the Haveli restaurant in Gudauri. The deaths stunned the state and foregrounded the struggles of people from India who go abroad to secure stability.

"She was planning her first visit since she moved to Georgia in 2015. She was very happy and was buying gifts from everyone," said Sukhwinder Singh, her 42-year-old cousin.

The other victims were identified as Ravinder Kumar (45) from Jalandhar, Sameer Kumar (26) from Khanna, Harwinder Singh (27) from Mansa, Varinder Singh (33) from Patiala, Sandeep Singh (34) from Tarn Taran, Ravinder Singh (34) and Gurwinder Kaur (29), both from Sangrur, Maninder Kaur (32) from Mansa and Gagandeep Singh (24) from Moga. The identity of the 11th victim could not be confirmed. A Georgian national also died in the incident. All of them were employees of the restaurant, inside a ski resort.

A preliminary investigation found that the carbon monoxide allegedly leaked from a power source, likely a generator, placed in a closed space near the bedrooms. "The Indian embassy in Georgia is in touch with the families and is working with local authorities to repatriate the mortal remains at the earliest," officials in the ministry of external affairs said on Tuesday.

As the news trickled in, familiar tales bound families across the agrarian state - of loss, longing and shattered dreams. Many of the victims hadn't returned to their families in years.