Mandi cloudburst: Family dead or missing, 10-month-old baby lone survivor

Ten-month-old Neetika is probably the lone survivor of her family, whose three members were either washed away or died in a cloudburst that hit Talwara village in Mandi district.

The infant's 31-year-old father, Ramesh Kumar, was out of his house, stanching the flow of water gushing inside his home on Tuesday, when a cloudburst struck the village. His body was found in debris.

Neetika's mother, Radha Devi, 24, and grandmother, Purnu Devi, 59, ventured out in Ramesh's search. Both women are yet to be traced.

It was a neighbour, Prem Singh, who spotted the infant crying alone and took her to Ramesh's cousin, Balwant, a personal security officer of former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

"The baby is with us," Balwant said.

He said the sub-divisional magistrate has offered to open a bank account in the name of the infant and it will be opened tomorrow.

"She (the SDM) said that a lot of calls are streaming in and people are coming forward to help the child after they heard about the tragedy," Balwant said.

The areas most affected by the cloudburst are Pawara, Thunag, Baidshad, Kanda, and Murad, with massive destruction in all these panchayats, where roads, water, and power schemes have suffered considerable damages.

Fourteen persons have died so far in ten incidents of cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides in Mandi district, while searches are underway to trace 31 missing, officials said.

Balwant said Ramesh, too, had also lost his father when he was just six months old.

Ramesh was a farmer who did not earn well and relied in great part on Purnu Devi's salary for household expenses, he said. Purnu Devi is a peon in a government school and was due for retirement in seven months.

An ex gratia amount of Rs 25,000 has been given to Neetika's relatives for her expenses.