13 July,2023 08:52 AM IST | Mumbai | Vinod Kumar Menon
The Sampats and some locals at the hotel after the inauguration
A family holiday to a newly invested hotel project by their daughter-in-law left a Mumbai family in the lurch amidst the heavy rainfall-triggered landslide in Manali which claimed over twenty-two lives and damaged hundreds of houses and property worth crores.
The Sampat family, comprising Mithil Sampat, his parents, cousin-sister and her parents, were in Manali for the inauguration of the hotel. They arrived in Manali on Saturday, July 9, 2023.
Rough river during a heavy downpour in Manali
On Saturday evening, the Sampats received a government notification warning of heavy rainfall in the area. However, they were not able to get any further information about the situation, as communication was cut off. And on Wednesday, as the families managed to head towards Chandigarh airport to board a flight for Mumbai, the entire experience was no less than a miracle.
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Rains in Manali can be deceiving. In Mumbai, we gauge the intensity of rainfall by heavy rains and strong winds. In Manali, there will be deceptively mild drizzles but the real indicator of danger is the rising river level of the Beas River, pointed out Mithil Sampat, a lawyer by profession.
On Sunday morning, Sampat's friends departed from Manali to go back to Mumbai. Their testimony was that en route from Manali to Chandigarh airport, they narrowly escaped death several times - dangerously small roads, and landslides and boulders falling near their car. Some of these friends made their peace with God and accepted that they were not going to survive. They left early in the morning at 6 am and thereafter electricity and communication were suspended later in the day. Because of this, neither they could inform the Sampat family of danger, nor could the Sampat family communicate with them about their whereabouts.
The Sampats with friends in Manali
On Sunday evening, there was no electricity at the hotel. The Sampats were left without any way to communicate with the outside world as there was no network as well. They were also unable to get any information about the roads or the situation in general.
Also, because of suspended communication, the Sampats could not coordinate to cancel the flight tickets, nor communicate with the airline. They were scheduled to come back to Mumbai on Monday night to resume court work from Tuesday onwards. "Because of a communication blackout, we could not coordinate with staff and clients, and our clients have suffered disastrous outcomes for serious litigation matters. We had an important argument on Tuesday to decide the fate of demolition of a building, which we were forced not only to miss but also our clients and staff were clueless about our whereabouts," said Mithil.
The locals staying in Manali said that this scenario - days-long power cuts and suspension of communication services - has happened after 30 years, and is not at all normal for those residing in Pirni area, which has hydropower connectivity. As a Mumbaikar, this was scarily reminiscent of the July 26, 2005 deluge of Mumbai, recalled Sampat.
"With God's grace we had our kitchen stocked with food, so despite all problems, our main priority of food was not affected, but it made me wonder what of the locals who needed to travel for food and other essential supplies," said Mithil.
On Monday, the Sampats attempted to depart from Manali as per their planned schedule. However, when they set out on the roads, they saw the extensive damage from landslides. They were forced to turn back and return to the hotel facing inaccessible roads.
On Tuesday, the Sampats learnt that the government had issued a code red alert, had issued an advisory to stay indoors and to not attempt travel. But since all communication was suspended, the news did not reach them on time and the lives of their family and friends were at risk to a great extent.
Some of the drivers even complained that there was fleecing and overcharging of fuel, with diesel being sold at 200 rupees per litre - double the normal rate.
On Tuesday morning, the Sampats finally managed to leave Manali. They were stuck in a traffic jam for several hours, as the roads were still congested. They also had to pay inflated prices for fuel.
"Brother (Dharmin) and bhabhi (Priyanka) were staying back at the hotel for their hotel work, and six of us (me, cousin-sister, mom, dad, and sister's mom and dad) departed without being able to communicate with bhai bhabhi and home," said Mithil.
"Once we exited Prini, we were faced with another traffic jam from Mandi to Bajora road which took hours as well. Later, because of landslides, Mandi tunnel and highway were closed off and we had to take the dangerous ghat to get to Chandigarh airport, which again added 2 hours to our travel time," said Mithil.
He added, "We had left Manali at 10 am on July 11 (Tuesday) and we reached a last-minute booked hotel at 4 am on July 12 (Wednesday), which is about 18 hours of travel with no communication, no food, and senior citizens. We had to incur extra expenses for drivers, hotels, travel etc."
"The local shops near the traffic jam were emptied and sold out by the departing tourists, and commodities like food and water became scarce. My parents are senior citizens, diabetic and heart patients, and I was worried about their health. I had to travel by foot for about a kilometre in a hilly area to get some junk food snacks for them from a faraway shop, which was the best option available. We had only had breakfast and my parents could not be kept hungry for so long without any certainty in travel," said Mithil.
On Wednesday evening the Sampats finally reached Chandigarh airport and were to board their flight for Mumbai, at the time of going to press.
July 5
Day the Sampats arrived in Manali
