Uttarakhand havoc: I myself threw nearly 300 bodies into the hillside, says survivor from Meerut

Dehradun, Jun 22: With the Uttarakhand administration and the army still struggling to cope with the enormity of the flash floods, heart-wrenching tales of devastation, hunger, feral greed emerge as survivors return to the plains. Lalit Pant, a 47-year-old football coach from Meerut, had gone to Kedarnath with his 10-year-old daughter and wife. After the deluge came, Lalit and his family walked 25 kilometre from KEdarnath to Ukhimath on foot. Says Lalit "Most of the people died of hunger and thirst. On the way we saw nearly a thousand ded bodies lying. I myself pushed off nearly 300 bodies into the hillside, as they were rotting.""The pony drivers told us on the way that throwing bodies into the hillside will at least prevent epidemic", said Lalit. Radhakant, hailing from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, returned to Delhi on Friday after his horrendous experience in Badrinath. "I had to literally run in a race against death in Uttarakhand. Behind me, the land was caving in, and shutting my eyes, I was running. I lost my friend Deepak, from Khagaria, during the race", said Radhakant. "We climbed up a hill. On one hand, the hillside were breaking up to pieces due to heavy rains accompanied by thunder. I somehow managed to reach Joshi Math the next day at noon. We stayed in a government school. I had Rs 3000 with me. We paid Rs 50 for a water bottle, Rs 30 for a cup of tea and Rs 100 for half a piece of bread."Radhakant and Deepak work in a factory in Greater Noida. Radhakant said: "We were staying in Shiva hotel near Joshimath. In the middle of night, the hotel staff said there was a cloudburst, and we should all flee. When we came out, it was raining heavily. On the roads, there were screams and shouts, and in heavy rain, I and my friend Deepak began to run. I then lost Deepak". Radhakat returned by a special train to Old Delhi railway station on Friday. Meena Devi, from Saharsa, Bihar, narrated how she, with her child, survived nature's fury. She returned to Delhi from Haridwar by a special train on Thursday night. Said Meena Devi:" On June 16 night, there was heavy rain in Kedarnath amidst lightning. Suddenly there were screams all around. The hotel staff began knocking at the doors of all rooms and asked us to run away. In panic, people gathered their belongings and ran. We had children with us. "When we came outside, we saw a near stampede on the streets. Water had entered the hotel right in front of us. On the roads, were bodies lying. It looked as if there was a dance of death going on. People began to run towards the forests. We also ran. We had no food, no water. Heavy rain drops were stinging on our bodies. The children were bawling. People who had lost their dear ones were openly weeping. Inside the hilly forest, the survivors were searching for their dear ones. There were nearly 3,000 people inside the forest". "As night fell, it became too cold, and since the ground was wet, the only thing, that we did was to cling to each other's bodies for warmth. Early at dawn, people started moving. People who were thirsty drank from the water flowing in the hill. We had no food for our children. We walked the entire day. By the evening, we reached a small hamlet away from Kedarnath."There the prices had already skyrocketed. A cup of tea for Rs 40. We bought some food for us and our children. Ahead, we got a vehicle, but after 20 km, the road had broken. We again took to the hills and came back on the road to hire another vehicle. In this way, we somehow managed to reach Haridwar. On the way, we met the Army jawans, who gave us courage and food. The local administration had done nothing."