PRO (DW)
Imphal, Aug. 16: Joumol was a small and insignificant basti in the remotest corner of Chandel district of Manipur. With barely ten huts housing roughly twenty people, life moved at a leisurely pace, giving an impression of time having stood still. There was no road or telephone connectivity which linked this nondescript village to the outside world. Their only connect with the civilization, for months on end, was a post of Assam Rifles which was located at a two hours walking distance.
On 01 Aug 2015, the tranquility of the village was shattered by a thunderous roar. A massive landslide during the early morning hours swept away the entire village resulting in numerous deaths and considerable loss to property. One of the survivor of this horrific calamity miraculously made this way to the Assam Rifles post and informed about the tragedy that had befallen the village.
The officer at the post immediately mustered a rescue party and headed towards the village whereon a spine chilling sight awaited them. The magnitude of the slide was so enormous that it had practically altered the landscape of that area. The entire village had got engulfed by the sliding landmass and the huts were lying in a mangled heap under a huge volume of mud, rocks and slush. The likelihood of finding survivors appeared bleak. Despite the inclement weather and heavy rains, the Assam Rifles rescue team, with utter disregard to their own safety, started the search for possible survivors. Villagers from nearby villages also joined the search and after hours of painstaking search, bodies of two ladies and a child were recovered.
The following day, a team of NDRF was inducted to augment the search efforts. The team was received at the helipad of the Assam Rifles post wherein it was briefed on the impending task and was guided to the accident site. The search was further intensified and it paid off in terms of rescue of three persons. One more body was recovered which took the overall tally of fatal casualties to four. The NDRF team was accommodated at the Assam Rifles post despite tremendous space constraints, even at the cost of Assam Rifles trrops sleeping under the open skies. The survivors of Joumol were given shelter, food and first aid at the Assam Rifles post despite limited ration stocks.
The next day, braving fatigue and exhaustion of last two days, the Assam Rifles troops pressed on with their search with a faint hope of finding some more survivors. Eventually, the rescue mission was called off after searching the area extensively for three days and exhausting all possible options.
Throughout the incident, troops of the Assam Rifles defied elements and rugged terrain and went about their duty unmindful of their personal safety and comfort. Despite experiencing deprivation and adversity, humanity and compassion for fellow human beings in distress was on full display by troops of the Assam Rifles as they stood true to their core motto -”Friends of the North East”.
