Mandi cloudbursts: 55 people in this Himachal village owe their lives to a six-month-old puppy — Rocky
On the night of June 30, massive cloudbursts struck several areas in Mandi district, including Syathi Trimbala, the worst-hit village under Longni Gram Panchayat, sitting by a seasonal rivulet. Around 2 am, Lalit Kumar woke up to the unusually loud and continuous barking of Rocky — a puppy of the local Gaddi breed.
'At first, I thought a 'Baghera' (a local word for leopard) might have entered the area, which could be why Rocky was barking so persistently,' 35-year-old Lalit, the pet owner, told The Indian Express.
But Lalit and other villagers went to a temporary shelter opposite his house by the rivulet to check on Rocky and comfort him, but what they saw left them terrified — the overflowing rivulet on the verge of sweeping the village.
'Water had started entering the village. We rushed out of our houses, shouting and alerting villagers. I put my disabled sister, Anu Devi, 38, on my shoulders, and we all village residents moved toward safer locations,' Lalit, a daily wager and father of a girl child, said.
Villagers said Rocky did what seemed unimaginable for a pup of his age — the pet alerted its owner about the impending danger by barking furiously.
However, amid the hullabaloo, the puppy was nowhere to be found. It was swept away by the strong water current of the rivulet, along with the temporary shelter, only to be found stuck in the bushes the next day.
'We don't know how and when Rocky went back to its shelter. The next day, we found Rocky stuck in the bushes, about 2 to 3 km away from our devastated village,' said Lalit.
Lalit's and other families have taken shelter in a relief camp at Naina Mata under Longni Gram Panchayat. They told The Indian Express, 'If we are alive today, it is only because of Rocky.'
Talking about the devastation wreaked by the cloudburst-triggered massive flooding by the rivulet, Prithi Chand, Up-Pradhan of Longni Gram Panchayat, said, 'Trimbala, the main village, is at a considerable height, but Syathi Trimbala is much lower, sitting by the rivulet, was completely devastated by cloudburst-triggered flash floods and torrential rains. The puppy saved the lives of all villagers.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Himalayan floods are here to stay
It began as a heavy rain, the kind that Himachal Pradesh has seen before. But by the night of June 28, it became clear that this was no ordinary monsoon rain. Cloudbursts over the upper reaches of the Beas basin triggered a chain reaction — landslides, glacial run-off, river swelling, and catastrophic flooding. In Mandi district alone, dozens were killed, including schoolchildren swept away in school buses and entire families buried under collapsing hillside homes. As the disaster unfolded across the State, the death toll crossed 100, with many still missing, according to official estimates as of mid-July. Local rescue teams described nightmarish scenes: an elderly couple in Jogindernagar clung to a tree for nearly 10 hours before being rescued; a mother in Sarkaghat tried to shield her infant as their house caved in — only she survived. Entire stretches of National Highway no. 154 disintegrated. Power lines were torn down, communication snapped, and thousands stranded without food or medical aid. Farmers watched their orchards disappear. Small dhabas and homes — often the only sources of livelihood — were swept away in minutes. Damages across Himachal have reportedly crossed ₹2,100 crore, with Mandi bearing the brunt (State Disaster Management Authority estimates). Relief centres overflowed, and the overwhelmed local administration resorted to calling in the Army and NDRF. Yet, for many in the villages dotting the hill slopes, the help came too late. And with the monsoon only just beginning, the fear of further destruction looms large. And yet, the tragedy did not come as a surprise. It was foretold — not by oracles, but by decades of scientific warnings, community memory, and ecological common sense. The June disaster is not an exception. It is part of a deeper reckoning: the Himalayan flood is not on the horizon — it's already here. New normal The rising temperatures in the Western and Central Himalayas have fast-tracked glacial melt and made rainfall increasingly erratic. Scientific data show that the upper Himalayas have warmed by nearly 1.8 degrees Celsius in the past 50 years — almost twice the global average. The result? The monsoon arrives with violent bursts, glaciers retreat with alarming speed, and glacial lakes threaten sudden outbursts. The destruction in Mandi was just the latest flashpoint. And it won't be the last. Across regions such as Palampur and Barot, local communities no longer see floods and landslides as exceptions. Instead, they have become part of the annual cycle. As one Gaddi farmer observed, 'We don't question floods any more — they're part of childhood stories now.' Disasters are no longer occasional — they are woven into the rhythms of everyday life. Into calendars, rituals, memory, and even school routines. Anthropogenic climate legacy This is precisely the long arc of destruction the IPCC has been warning about. Emissions from the industrial era do not vanish with the monsoon; their impact lingers for decades, even centuries. The 2022 and 2023 IPCC reports confirm that we are already living with 'committed warming' — irreversible climate consequences locked in by past emissions. The glaciers now retreating will not return in our lifetimes. Flood-prone zones will continue to expand. Disasters don't merely continue; they accumulate. This means the children of the Himalayas will inherit not just a warmer world, but one marked by perpetual instability — unless the trajectory of response changes radically. Children of 1996 and beyond Here, the generational divide becomes stark. Those born before 1996 grew up in a relatively stable climate. For them, weather followed patterns, and seasons held meaning. But for those born after — the so-called 'disaster-evolved generation' — uncertainty is the only constant. These are children who, in Kullu, pack raincoats and first-aid kits in their school bags. Teenagers in Shimla grow up learning how to mark flood zones on their maps. This is not wartime mobilisation. It is climate adaptation — and it's becoming habitual. But when disasters become ordinary, the tragedy deepens. What should be shocking becomes routine. That is both our loss and our collective test. Melting mountain These floods are not just products of melting glaciers; they are the consequence of an ideology that celebrates extraction over harmony. Consider the Hindu notion of Pralay — the cosmic flood that destroys the world in cycles so it may be reborn. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, this deluge is divine. But today's Pralay is human-made, driven by unchecked greed and ecological indifference. Marx, too, offers a chilling echo: 'All that is holy becomes profane, and all that is solid melts into air.' Our sacred mountains are no longer revered — they are ripped apart to fuel roads, power plants, and tourist resorts. Hydropower projects blast riverbeds into submission; highways are cut crudely into unstable slopes. Tourism, rather than elevating the region, leaves behind plastic waste, broken trails, and ecological imbalance. We were told this was development. But each step forward in production — each road, tunnel, or intensified farming zone — erodes the Himalayan equilibrium. Infrastructure begets run-off. Deforestation triggers landslides. Marx's critique endures: the crisis isn't just about carbon emissions — it's rooted in a material system that prizes profit over preservation. Material production reimagined To respond meaningfully, we must reimagine how we build, where we build, and for whom. Infrastructure must be reoriented to work with nature, not against it. Rather than concrete storm drains that quicken run-off and erosion, flood management can adopt meandering stream corridors lined with native vegetation. Terraced forest buffers and marshlands at the foot of slopes can absorb excess rainwater and slow down deluge events. Homes and hamlets must be reconstructed atop engineered terraces — elevated, buttressed by stone retaining walls, and supported by deep-rooted grasses that anchor the soil. These are not utopian ideas. The State Disaster Mitigation Authority (SDMA) has outlined them in multiple reports. It also stipulates that no settlement should exist within five metres of natural drainage lines — a rule that remains widely violated. As for the roads that slice across hillsides, less than 30% adhere to basic slope drainage codes. Most rely on gravity — a dangerous gamble. Every monsoon, this negligence turns into a landslide headline. Institutional gaps The SDMAs of both Himachal and Uttarakhand have produced reports filled with hazard maps, vulnerability indices, and strategic frameworks. But these often end up as paper-bound intentions without executable timelines or budgets. Take Uttarakhand's plan to reinforce 15 critical stretches of the Corbett highway. There is no funding blueprint. Himachal's SDMA lists over 1,200 vulnerable buildings in Kangra and Kullu districts, but without offering relocation or structural audit strategies. What we see is a pattern — noble bureaucratic insight diluted by administrative paralysis. The problem is not in knowledge — but in will. Psychological shift In Chamoli and Kullu, the psychological landscape is shifting. Emergency kits are now as routine as ration cards. People pack water pouches, torchlights, and important documents, knowing full well that the next landslide could erase their homes in minutes. Schools and villages must go beyond token disaster drills. Regular training, community-based hazard mapping, and local radio alert systems are the need of the hour. Most important, people must also be taught what not to carry during evacuations. In many tragedies, precious minutes are lost trying to save religious artefacts or household heirlooms. Resilience must become muscle memory — not rhetoric. Liberation in adaptation The wisdom of both religious and political thought offers guidance. The Hindu invocation Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu — 'May all beings everywhere be happy and free' — reminds us that true liberation begins with security: a safe home, a reliable alert system, and a dignified livelihood. Marx reminds us that personal freedom is a mirage without collective structures. If unbridled capitalism tore through community solidarities, it is now tearing through the mountains. Real emancipation lies not in individual resilience but in collective systems: shared water buffers, state-funded terracing, and community-managed forests. The individual breathes easier when the village is strong. A call to action Mandi's devastation was not a glitch. It was a grim parable in a longer Himalayan narrative. And yet, the most dangerous mistake would be to respond with more of the same: dig, drain, and deny. We must build infrastructure that is flood-adaptive by design. Disaster mitigation agencies must move from planning to implementation — with funds, audits, and accountability. Preparedness must become a daily civic routine. And most critically, we must restore a material spirituality — one that regards the Himalayas not as a resource bank, but as a living cosmos. The 'disaster-evolved' generation already understands this intuitively. Their resilience is not a genetic trait — it is a forced adaptation. But it also holds the blueprint for the future. As the Bhagavata Purana warns, 'When earth falls into chaos, the cosmic waters rise.' But redemption does not lie in waiting for a saviour. It lies in what we choose to build now — with compassion, justice, and courage. If all that is solid melts into air, let the foundations we lay today rest not just on concrete, but on collective memory, cultural wisdom, and ecological harmony. This is Kalyug's challenge — and capitalism's reckoning. The Himalayan Pralay has arrived. Whether we drown in it or rebuild from it is entirely up to us. Tikender Singh Panwar is an author of three books on urbanisation — The Cities in Transition, The Radical City, Challenges of Urban Governance; He is a former Deputy Mayor of Shimla and currently a member of the Kerala Urban Commission; views are personal
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Indian Express
Kolkata braces for more light rain as low-pressure system moves westwards
Written by Shambhavi Pandey After days of persistent showers, Kolkata saw a brief pause in rain on Sunday morning as the intensity of the rain eased and the sun finally peeked through the clouds. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed that no major rain warning has been issued for Kolkata. However, the broader weather pattern suggests that rain is far from over in Bengal. The IMD reported that the monsoon remains very active over the state. The low-pressure area that had formed over Gangetic West Bengal has since weakened and moved westwards towards Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Yet, light rain and thundershowers are still likely to continue over Kolkata and the surrounding districts for the next few days. For the next 24 hours, the local forecast for Kolkata predicts a generally cloudy sky with light rain or thundershowers. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 33 degrees Celsius and 27 degrees Celsius, respectively. Relative humidity remains high, with a maximum of 95 per cent and a minimum of 79 per cent, contributing to the sultry conditions. Between 6.30 am on Saturday and the same time on Sunday, the city recorded only 0.2 mm of rainfall. Despite the relative calm in Kolkata, several parts of Bengal have yellow alerts issued for them. Multiple alerts were issued through Sunday morning and noon for thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds of 30–40 kmph, for East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, and parts of North Bengal such as Malda, North and South Dinajpur, and North Dinajpur. The warnings are valid for three-hour windows throughout the day, urging residents to take caution, particularly in open or poorly sheltered areas. Although no severe weather has been forecast for Kolkata, officials advise residents to remain aware of shifting conditions as the monsoon trough remains active. While the sunshine on Sunday offered a temporary break from the rain-soaked days, the IMD suggests that scattered showers will continue through the week. Urban residents should stay alert for minor disruptions, including waterlogging and localised thunderstorm activity, especially in the evenings. Shambhavi Pandey is an intern with The Indian Express.
India Gazette
6 days ago
- India Gazette
Disaster Pawtrol: Pet dog Rocky saves lives during cloudburst
Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 12 (ANI): As recent natural disasters ravaged Himachal Pradesh, a pet dog Rocky in the Syathi village seems to have proven the saying of 'man's best friend' by saving his family members from a cloud burst in the region on June 30. On Monday, as water started accumulating at the ground floor of the families' house in the village, Rocky alerted his family members about the situation, allowing them vacate the premises on time and reach a safe location. Lalit Kumar the owner of the dog, recalled the incident of being saved by his dog, 'I was sleeping before and soon as I woke up, we have this small dog. He was barking loudly. When I got out of the house, the ground floor was flooded and it was raining too much. I took him out, he sat down on the ground floor of my house. I went to the second floor to the family. My family was sitting there.' 'I kept my family in grandparents' house. When I looked outside at my house was from there, I saw that my house went down with landslide,' he added. Abhishek Kumar, who saw the houses being swept away mentioned, 'The incident happened on June 30 around 1:30 PM, when the disaster happened at the time I was at home sleeping, my mother was at home, grandparents were there, and other family members were there,' he told ANI. He said that initially they were not aware of the seriousness of the situation and had gathered with their family members at the house. 'Suddenly this vibration sound came. I felt that there was some shaking and so on or something like there was a pillar there, it had fallen.... my brother's two boys came and they kept running and the house was swept away. Then we got up, so when we got up, we saw the situation outside, so everyone had gathered there. Taya ji's girl who cannot walk was also brought and we gathered at the house thinking it is a safe place,' he said. However, he remembered they understood the disaster which is about to come when they saw their relative's house collapse in front of their eyes. He added, 'Just like how my relatives house was swept away if our house had the same thing that time, then we would not have survived. Somehow we all have fled from there.' Earlier, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu returned from a tour of flood-ravaged Mandi district and announced that the state has suffered losses worth Rs 800 crore due to the ongoing monsoon devastation. CM Sukhu urge the Centre to release a special disaster relief package immediately. Speaking to the media after chairing a high-level meeting with the Revenue Department in Shimla, the Chief Minister urged the BJP MPs from Himachal Pradesh to seek central support for the disaster-hit state. (ANI)
