Aunt Steps In to Raise 10-Month-Old Orphaned by Mandi Cloudburst Tragedy

Aunt Steps In to Raise 10-Month-Old Orphaned: After a cloudburst in Mandi district’s Talwara village, 10-month-old Neetika lost her father and is now without her mother and grandmother who are still missing.

The infant was orphaned after a cloudburst struck Parwara panchayat in Mandi district on the intervening night of June 30 and July 1. Her father Ramesh died, while her mother Radha Devi and grandmother Purnu Devi are still missing.

On that tragic night, Ramesh had stepped out to divert the water entering the house, while his wife and mother followed to help. They never returned.

Their neighbour Prem Singh found the infant crying alone in the house and informed Balwant, a cousin of Ramesh who worked as a personal security officer for former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur.

After the ‘Shudi’ ceremony was performed on the 13th day of the family’s death, the relatives decided that Neetika will be raised by her aunt Kirna Devi who already has a son and lives in Shikauri village, about 20 km away from Talwara village, Balwant told PTI on Monday.

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Found alone by a neighbor, Neetika will now be cared for by her aunt Kirna Devi as the family felt she could give Neetika a good home.

"We are thankful to them. But we feel emotional and cannot give the only surviving member of the family for adoption," Balwant said.

Earlier Ramesh’s elder sister Tara Devi had taken the child under her care. But later on Sunday it was decided that Kirna Devi would raise Neetika as she insisted that her village has a good atmosphere for the child’s education.

Orphaned, yet surrounded by love, little Nikita still looks for her mother in the crowd of familiar and unfamiliar faces but gentle hands and kind eyes try to fill the void.

The child was also offered admission in Sainik School after Class 6, Balwant added.

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Many people are coming forward to help the infant, two bank accounts have been opened in her name in Himachal Co-operative Bank and Punjab National Bank. The money deposited in these accounts will be reserved for her education and she can access it when she turns 18, officials said.Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur visited Neetika on Saturday and asked about her condition. He has requested the state government to provide her benefits under Chief Minister’s Sukh Aashray Yojana.

Under this scheme, the state government takes care of thousands of orphans and destitute children designated as ‘children of the state’ effectively acting as their guardian.

Meanwhile search operations are still on to trace 27 people who were swept away after 10 cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides hit various parts of Mandi district on June 30 night. 15 people had died in the tragedy.

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