MADIKERI: The past twelve days have been filled with horror for Harish, an estate owner living in Thora village. His sole pursuit every day has been to dig the earth around what used to be his home, trying to find the body of his pregnant wife. He is yet to find her.
On August 8, Harish left his estate line-house, where he was staying with his wife Veena. He left to meet his employer at around 10.30 am, an everyday task. “It is a 10-minute walk from my house and while I was on the way, I heard a loud sound and turned back to see the whole mountain rolling down,” he narrated in terror.
Since that fateful day, he has been trying to come to terms with the landslide that took away everything he loved. “She was six months pregnant. Now she is buried under the landslide,” he mourned, standing alongside an earthmover that was busy digging up the earth. A total of six persons are missing in the landslide that has all but destroyed the village, leaving only soil in place.
While the work continues, Harish spoke of a time, not so long back, when he was happy. “I want to see her one last time,” he says in a choked voice. A native of Periyapatna, he moved to Kodagu in search of work when he was just 13. He started off with picking coffee at an estate. He quickly impressed his employer.
“The owner was extremely happy. After a few years, he supported and encouraged me to become an estate-owner myself. I managed to gain ownership of 1.5 acres and looked after it while working at my employer’s estate as well,” he reminisces.
Within time, he saved enough to build a house and got married to Veena. “I laid the foundation for the house in 2018. Then my marriage was fixed and we delayed construction for a year,” he said. Today, only the foundation stands amidstthe ruins of his life. “My wife, my unbornchild, my cattle, my domesticated animals, all are under this earth. Buried in less than one second,” he said.