LUCKNOW: Over a fortnight has passed and still there is hardly any trace of the 11 members of a family which had gone to Manali in Himachal Pradesh, the flood and rain ravaged state, from Pithla village under Milkipur police station area of Ayodhya on July 10.
As per the family, they were in touch with their relatives back in Ayodhya before boarding a bus from Chandigarh to Manali on the night of July 9.
Later, the family got the information that the bus headed for Manali from Chandigarh was parked on the roadside as the flood water had washed away a portion of the road. The bus went missing and was recovered on July 13 when the water level receded.
As per the relatives, the family used to deal in clothe trade and two members used to visit all the places with tourist rush every two months to sell the clothes purchased from Delhi and Lucknow markets. This year 11 members of the family went for an outing to Manali considering it to be the summer season. Now, the remaining members of the family back in Ayodhya have nothing but wait for a phone call from their dear ones.
“Any mobile phone call from an unknown number rekindles a hope in the family of Abdul Majid ,” says Saryu Prasad, a fellow villager. Those who have gone missing in the hill state include Abdul Majeed (62), Nazima (60), Bashar (42), Parveen (40), Ishtihar (21), Omaisa Shabana (19), Kareena (18), Waris Ali (10), Mausam (6), Alvira (4), and Ejaz Ahmed (30).
As per the villagers, Abdul Majid’s daughter, her husband and his son along with daughter-in-law live in Manali. “They are all searching for the family but to no avail so far,” says Saryu prasad.
Some of the relatives of Majid claim that the Himachal police were of no help. “Nobody is there to listen the woes. The bodies recovered from the submerged bus were not shown to the family members of Majid. Even his relatives, who wanted to go there, were stopped by the state authorities on the pretext of inclement weather and flood fury,” says Mohammad Sahir of Pithla village.
According to Noorjahan, it was very difficult for the family back in Ayodhya to keep patience in a situation where there was no information about the 11 members of the family. “My grand-daughter and grandson had gone for outing for the first time. But look at the games of Almighty who only knows whether the family will return ever or not,” says the chocked Noorjahan over phone. The villagers feel that initially, they had the hope that the family might have stayed somewhere and would call as soon as the flood situation would ease out but with the passage of time, the hope is diminishing and the fear of the worst is gaining ground.
As per the family sources, Rehbar, Majid’s son-in-law, was in touch with Kareena, one of the missing people, who had called him from Ayodhya on July 9 and requested him to receive them at Manali bus station around midnight. He kept waiting for his in-laws at Manali station and when the bus did not arrive till 3am, he tried calling their numbers but all the mobile phones were switched off. Rehbar left Manali to search for his relatives on next morning but was stopped by the police ahead of Mandi police station. The police informed him that a road was washed away by the flood water. Additional superintendent of police, Ayodhya, Atul Kumar Sonkar said that they were in touch with Himachal Pradesh administration and trying to trace the missing persons.