Ashok Semwal, a shopkeeper who ran an eating joint for Kedarnath pilgrims, is unable to recount the horror story he witnessed last week. All he could recollect is how the Kedarnath temple bell saved his and a few others’ lives when flood waters came gushing in the temple.
In an interview with The Pioneer, Semwal explained how and why he had taken shelter in the temple a day before the flash flood momentarily submerged the temple.
On June 15, after incessant rain continued for hours, he heard that the water level in the Mandakini river was rising. later that evening, he saw Bharat Sewa Ashram washed away in the flash flood. As a precaution, he took shelter in the Kedarnath temple along with other pilgrims on June 16.
But on June 17 morning, he was overcome by a deafening sound and within minutes the entire area was submerged. The flood waters broke the southern gate of the temple. There was at least six-feet deep water in the area. Hundreds of pilgrims scurried for safety, and I immediately ran for the temple bell and clung on to it till waters receded, tells Semwal.
When the water receded, I managed to help out a few others stuck in the mud on the temple premises, Semwal said, adding that he can’t recollect how many people he saved from the deadly mud.
later, he rushed for a safer place but found himself and others stranded on an island flanked by streams of water. After waiting for some time, I found a tree flowing in the stream, and I took help of others to build a make-shift bridge, he tells. We reached Bhairaon Chatti using the hill route, told Semwal.
He sees a divine intervention in the tragedy, as the flood water entered the temple from the VIP gate. Semwal
says that most of the priests who used to take bribes from VVIPs to allow easy entry in the temple were washed away in the flash flood. lord Shiva is not happy with greedy priests, says Semwal.