Libni Garg, the brave survivor of the Uttarakand floods is being featured in a documentary Himalayn Tsunami that will be aired on Discovery tomorrow. In what is a heart wrenching tale of survival, Libni, who is just 16, narrates her nightmarish experience.
It was six months ago in June that Libni along with her parents, uncle and aunt decided to go on a pilgrimage to Kedarnath and Badrinath. However, the family could only visit Kedarnath before nature’s fury poured on them. “The police told us that the bridge leading to Badrinath had broken.
It was raining heavily and we decided to stay at a lodge in Rambada till it stops,” recalls Libni.
After an early dinner at 5 pm, the family decided to rest. “I was trying to sleep when I felt the bed was shaking. I told my mother and she confirmed it,” says the youngster. When they looked out, they saw boulders crashing down on the left and on the right, there were strong currents of water.
Everybody decided to wade through the water but Libni’s father said that it wouldn’t be wise and they hiked up the hill. When they reached the top and looked back the entire town had been swept off. “We were completely soaked and though we had raincoats, they were useless against the torrential rains,” says Libni. By now the family had run out of food and whatever water they had was used sparingly. “The government was airdropping food but the helicopters weren’t reaching the place we were stranded,” says the 16-year-old who was by then worried about her father whose health was failing. A diabetic, he was losing consiousness. However, the family did not sulk or cry as “we had to conserve our energies,” says Libni displaying a calm that defies her age.
They decided to trudge to a place that was accessible to the helicopters and were finally airborne by the army. “I was hoping that once we reached the base camp things will be taken care of but that wasn’t to be. My father needed immediate medical help but it wasn’t available. By then my mother who was asking for help was fatigued. Thankfully, somebody heard us and took us to to a hospital.” However, their troubles were not over. There were no facilities and Libni’s mother went hoarse telling them to get the equipment and that she would do it herself. “I was devastated.
There was no network there so I collected all the phones, sat on the road and kept them in a line praying that at least phone will receive the signal,” says Libni. Finally, one phone got signal for fraction of a minute and she quickly connected with her family back home. Since her relatives had already despatched a search party, within no time they contacted Libni and flew them to Gaurikunj hospital. But even they were not equipped to handle an emergency, so they were flown to Dehradun where her father got adequate care and is now hale and hearty.
As for Libni, as soon as her vacation was over, she joined school and was back to her routine. “I have never cried, but I really don’t know if I have overcome the trauma,” says the braveheart.
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