Survived the deluge, but lost everything I had

Four days after disaster struck Uttarkashi, homestay owner recalls his harrowing escape from Dharali; 657 rescued as search for missing on

- NARENDRA SETHI @ Dehradun

THE true extent of the devastation wrought in the Dharali deluge in Uttarkashi district, and the deep wounds it has inflicted on the land and lives, will become clearer as relief efforts gradually unfold. However, for Bhupendra Panwar, the cruel reality of nature's fury is already stark: dumbfounded, he has witnessed his homestay, the culmination of a lifetime of efforts, vanish beneath a flood of debris.

Four days after the disaster, Bhupendra Panwar's eyes are still glazed over - having lost his all in an instant. He recounts how he had painstakingly saved every penny by driving a taxi in the mountains. Just this April, he invested his life's savings to open a two-storey homestay in Dharali village, a picturesque landscape cradled between mountains, amid lush apple orchards. "I thought my dream had come true," he recalls, "but who knew that in just four months, in a matter of a few seconds, everything would be destroyed before my very eyes."