Pall of gloom descends on scores of villages in Kheri

Bareilly: Kamlesh, 19, youngest member in his family of six, who left his village to earn money for his brother’s wedding, returned home - in a body bag. He was among the several missing from UP's Lakhimpur Kheri district since the flash flood in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday.

After the arrival of his body - the first among a list of missing labourers - in Ichchanagar on Tuesday night, a pall of gloom descended on the village. Entire villages in the district have been in mourning since the tragedy. Most of them are fearing for the worst.

And after seeing the condition of Kamlesh's body, the hope of others' survival has considerably reduced. His body was disfigured and had multiple fractures possibly caused by collision with large rocks swept by the gush of water.

His aunt, Kaushalya Devi, is yet to come to terms with the tragedy. Her unmarried young nephew was like her own son. She had raised him along with her son Raju. Tragically, her son Raju is missing as well.

Like many elderly villagers, the father, Lalta Prasad, is clueless. He doesn't know how to run the house now. All the earning members were missing in Uttarakhand since Sunday.

There were a few lucky ones too. Shanu, one of the survivors, returned home and hugged his two sons, Bilal and Anas, like never before. His worried family had stopped cooking food.

Village head Ichchanagar Santosh Raj told TOI, “Chances of survival is less for most of the missing ones. We are trying to assist their families in claiming the insurance money. The compensation announced by the government may not be sufficient. Some families have lost their sole earning member.”

Nighasan SDM Om Prakash Gupta said that they are coordinating with the Uttarakhand government. "Our official is in Chamoli district," the SDM added.

Meanwhile, hundreds of villagers along with administrative officials and local politicians gathered to cremate Kamlesh's body.

The second body of a local from Babupurva village is expected to arrive on Thursday morning.