When a cloudburst hit my favorite spot, I couldn't sleep the whole night. The next morning, I got up and headed to Sahastradhara on my scooter to see the extent of the damage. The cloudburst occurred on the night of September 17th, with its epicenter being Karligard, located 2.8 kilometers from the main Sahastradhara Temple. I stayed up all night, watching the heavy rain and lightning.
A look at the statistics from the past few days: 15 people have lost their lives in this disaster so far, and 16 are missing. More than 900 people have been rescued and taken to safety. And in terms of property, the total damage to property has exceeded ₹10 crore. This damage includes local homes, roads, bridges, playgrounds, and farmland.
I arrived at Sahastradhara on September 18th at 10 a.m. The rain that had been pouring down for two days had stopped, and as soon as it stopped, I kicked my scooter off and set off. Sahastradhara is about 11 km from my home. Upon reaching there, I parked my scooter in a safe place and admired my favorite spot. The ponds I used to bathe in were all destroyed; it seemed as if there never existed a pond here.
This is the Sahastradhara River, and the shops and hotels built along its banks were all swept away by the cloudburst. In some places, 15 hotels were swept away at once, leaving no trace of them. The river is flowing at its full speed, and it seems that if the rain increases, the water level will rise, causing further damage. Although the government has safely evacuated everyone, people are still present here, crying over their destroyed property.
The hotels I used to eat at have all disappeared. The past three days have been so torrential, normal life has been severely disrupted. Fortunately, the Shiva temple here was undamaged, as it's located slightly above the river's mouth and at the foot of a mountain. The bridges over Sahastradhara are intact, but the road connecting to Karligard village has collapsed.
Crossing Seri village, I see JCB machines have arrived at several locations, and work is underway to reopen the road. The bridge on the road connecting Sahastradhara to the airport has been completely washed away by the river, blocking the road completely. Locals are unable to access drinking water due to broken water pipelines, and downed power poles have disrupted power supply to their homes.
The Malwa storm that arrived on the night of the cloudburst has entered the road, homes, and shops. People are seen cleaning their shops and homes. The remaining houses and hotels have large cracks in their walls. Now, these buildings will have to be demolished and rebuilt, and it's certain that it will take months or years for life to return to normal. I pray that everything will be fixed soon and the rain will stop. This year, the rains have devastated North India.
I was reading a weather report that stated that due to a Western Disturbance, North India is facing heavy rainfall. Due to this heavy rainfall, many states have been hit by floods. I feel as if the monsoon is not leaving, but returning. Regarding the weather, it was said that it would remain the same this month. As September ends, the sunshine will increase and the weather will begin to improve.
It was 3 in the afternoon when I was walking around Sahastradhara. I had walked several kilometers, taking stock of the situation, talking to locals, and listening to their concerns. Now it was time to return home, so I went straight to the parking lot, kicked my scooter back on, and headed back home. But I can't forget the scene I witnessed. I pray everything returns to normal soon.
So this was my trip to Sahastradhara, where I never expected to see tears in people's eyes. Children's exams have been put on hold due to the closure of schools in this area. No one has even mentioned the animals, how many have lost their lives. I hope everything will be fine soon, and life will return to normal.
Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to translate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from canon 77d (55-250mm) and edited on laptop lightroom app, post thumbnail created in adobe photoshop.
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