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For Sunita Bardi, surviving a massive landslide left her with more questions and fears.
“We don’t know what lies ahead,” says Bardi, who was among those who survived the landslide that swept through Ershalwadi, a mountainous tribal village in Khalapur Tehsil in Raigad district.
Collectively, Sunita says her family lost nine members. Among the survivors in the family were Radhika Bardi, 14, and her sister Sonu Bardi, 9, who were staying at their uncle’s house near their school in Mangaon when the tragedy occurred.
However, the sisters lost their parents and their homes in the wrath of the landslide.
I used to sleep near our farm where we used to grow noodles. I managed to escape with four of my family members including my five-year-old son, Chinna Pardi,” says Sunita, who is the aunt of Radhika and Sonu.
Although 14-year-old Radhika spent the night at Raigad Zila School Parishad in Nanivali, she is eager to go back to her school in Mangaon and resume her classes.
“What will the girls do now that her parents are dead?” Sunita asks.
As of Friday evening, the death toll from the landslide is 22.
However, more than 100 are still feared missing. While the NDRF canceled the operation Friday night, it, along with members of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF) as well as local hikers, is set to resume operations on Saturday.
Among the few homes that remained damaged were brothers Mangesh Bardi, 21, and Sachin Bardi, 24.
“All my family members are alive. While our house was not affected, we felt some stones and mud falling on the structure. I slept in the kitchen,” say the brothers, who were working as labourers.
Another survivor of the tragedy is Bami Bardi (45 years old) who went to a nearby village to buy vegetables and decided to stay in a place he used to live nearby, due to the heavy rains that hit Raigad district.
In the Bardi family, of six, four managed to escape with minor injuries, while two remained untraceable as of Friday night.
She says: “I got a call around 11pm. As soon as I heard about the incident, I ran to the site. The locals told me to stay down the hill. I didn’t know what was happening, I didn’t understand who I was talking to.”
“In the morning when I was climbing the hill, I couldn’t even find my house, let alone the people trapped inside,” the 45-year-old added.
Ravindra Pardee, 25, told The Indian Express that he is not sure if he wants to go uphill again.
He lost one of his brothers in the wrath of the landslide, which felt like an “explosion” to him.
“Everything happened within two minutes. There was a big thud and it felt like there was an explosion. My mother and I used to stay at school but we lost my brother.”
Meanwhile, Ravindra’s father, Tukaram Bardi, is receiving care at Kamoth MGM Hospital. Tukaram is among six who have been infected and admitted to a government-run institution.
While some other wounded people are recovering at Grameen Hospital in Chowk, many survivors with minor injuries are receiving medical care in camps set up in Irchalwadi.
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