‘Landslide survivors want jobs, not just govt aid’

(Left) Sunil Parde, who used to run a shop that fed trekkers, with his family inside a makeshift container

Survivors of the Irsalwadi landslide, a week after the natural disaster, are gradually coming to terms with their loss and are now concerned about their future. Their houses, savings, and farms are destroyed and buried under the rubble of the landslide, leaving them with no source of livelihood. As a result, many of them are seeking jobs to start a new life from scratch.

City-based psychiatrists emphasise the toll the disaster has taken on the survivors, losing not only their homes and livelihood but also enduring the ongoing rains in makeshift arrangements.

Trekkers on their way to Irsalgad; (right) Sunil Parde's shop that he used to run during the trekking season. Pics/Sunil Parde

One survivor, Sunil Parde, 25, is still in shock after losing everything in the landslide. His family survived, but they now reside in one of the containers. Parde worries about the future of his family, including his mother Chandra Bahu Parde, 40, wife Chandrakala, 21, his two children and younger brother Sachin, 23.

Everything is over

Parde recalled, "That night, we were at our relative's house in a nearby village and had locked our house. In the morning, when we rushed to the site on learning about the landslide, everything was over."

New music system, cash, gold under debris

"I had big plans to start my own mandap decoration work for my brother's wedding, which was scheduled for Diwali. I even bought two sound systems and some clothes for decoration, spending over R40,000. My wife's gold and some cash, around a lakh, which we were saving for my brother's wedding and for me to buy a DJ system, it's all gone," said an emotional Parde. "Unlike me, who is a school dropout [studied till Std IX], my brother Sachin has completed HSC, and we had arranged a girl for him from Murbad, Thane district, but now we have nothing - no house, no work, no money."

Extra income

Parde used to earn extra income by selling vegetables like cucumber and snake gourd in the market at Chouk. He also travelled to the Panvel market occasionally. During weekends, he served vegetarian lunch plates for R155 and non-vegetarian plates for over R200 for trekkers. The business season was from June to Diwali when trekkers from various places, including Mumbai, Panvel, Thane, Pune, and outside Maharashtra, visited the area. As the season progresses, the number of trekkers gradually reduce.

Jobs for our hands

The survivors, including Parde and his family, are now desperately searching for jobs to rebuild their lives since they have lost everything.

"We have lost everything and we are looking for jobs for our hands, and to restart from scratch, as we have no farm, no house, no money left. The local administration gave us Rs 5,000 when we shifted to the container," said Parde.

Livelihood a must

Santosh Thakur, founder president of Gram Sanvardhan Samajik Sanstha, advocates for the government's assistance in providing job opportunities for young survivors to help them support their families and overcome the trauma they have experienced.

The other side

Ayub Tamboli, Tahsildar Khalapur, said, "The immediate concern was to ensure that the survivors are rehabilitated, and we have almost taken care of that. We have many industries and factories in and around Khalapur, and we are keen to provide vocational and skill training to them so that they can earn a living
for themselves."

Psychiatrists speak

Dr Bharat Vatwani and Dr Harish Shetty

Dr Bharat Vatwani, a Ramon Magsaysay Award winner and psychiatrist, said, "While grief will overpower those who have lost their loved ones, Reactive Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) will not spare the ones who have not lost their loved ones. Losing a home, hearth and livelihood will take its toll on everyone. Repetitive ruminations on the future of their own lives and their offspring will bludgeon their desire to survive and needed coping mechanisms."

Dr Harish Shetty, another psychiatrist, pointed out, "Post-disaster the victims who have not lost their family members are generally ignored, receive less attention, and remain invisible. Loss of livelihood, home, and savings under the rubble have similar mental health issues as others. In the rehab plan, counselling should be provided free of cost. Providing livelihood is also a mental health initiative."