Villagers Dig Through Mud for Their Memories as Jammu's Pargwal Reels Under Devastation

'Floodwaters stood up to the first storey of houses for two days, drowning shops and granaries'

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PARGWAL: Days after floodwaters swallowed their homes and fields, the villagers of Pargwal walk barefoot through sludge and rubble, searching not just for belongings but for pieces of memory in the mud-filled farmlands that stretch to the International Border.

On Tuesday last, the Chenab River burst into their hamlet with a roar, breaking walls, carrying away animals and household items, and leaving behind a suffocating carpet of mud. The villagers were scattered across the fields, searching for whatever the river had not claimed.

Pargwal village, near Akhnoor, one of 27 border hamlets, is situated between the border with Pakistan and the mighty Chenab River.

For two days, floodwaters stood up to the first storey of houses, drowning shops, granaries and livestock.