Manali dam tragedy survivor says life can’t be the same for him

Hyderabad: Suharsha, a second year engineering student at VNR engineering college in Hyderabad, has survived the Manali dam mishap. A devastated Suharsha narrated his story saying he cannot come to terms with the tragic incident in which several of his friends went missing after Larji dam officials released water with giving them enough time to move to safety from the Beas river bed.

I still can't believe that I am alive and back at my house in Hyderabad. It was a chilling experience. We have lost 18-19 of our very dear classmates and friends. On our way to Manali, we had stopped to click pictures of Beas River.

It was looking calm and we sat on the rocks posing for the pictures. We heard no sound of hooters. Can't say the dam authorities did not use hooters. May be it was inaudible. After sometime, we realised that the water level in the river was increasing. Initially, we did not pay much attention.

After five minutes, we realised that something was seriously wrong. We panicked and tried to rush back to the river bank. Some of us managed to escape. I was almost caught by the swift flowing river. My friend Ashish Mantha came for my rescue. He hauled me up. He saved me. He saved many others including girls. But, the water swallowed him. He was washed away. We are yet to find his body. Ashish was a brilliant and a jovial student. He was our college topper.

He was full of life. He lost his father a few months ago. Who will take care of his mother? I pray to god that she will come to terms with the loss of dear son.

Because of selfless friends like Ashish and Kiran, 22 of us have survived. But, we are devastated. We are not in a position to say anything more. Media is harassing us. We are tired of narrating the same, tragic story to all. We can't even forget the incident. How can we forget that? Our friends have been swallowed by the gushing waters.

After many hours, the help came. Once it became a big issue, our state government also sent help. They brought us to Chandigarh. From Chandigarh, we boarded a special flight for Hyderabad. Most of us were in deep shock. We did not even know that we were flying back home.

By god's grace, some of us are back at home. What about the rest? Who will console their parents? I don't think that we would be able to resume normal lives in near future.

The thought of returning to college makes us sad. Life can't be the same again for most of us.