A ‘blast-like sound', then came the deluge. Uttarkashi's Dharali grapples with trail of devastation

The Print

4 days ago

'We were eating lunch when the flood hit,' said 38-year-old Dharali resident Suresh Panwar. 'We ran to a higher point and saw the market being submerged. Our house got hit in the second wave.'
As National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Army personnel carry out search and rescue operations—sifting through rocks, boulders and chunks of earth—villagers are still in a state of shock. Some lost family members, others homes and livelihoods.
Dharali : From Mukhawa, the village on the mountain side opposite Dharali, a clear view of destruction the flash flood brought is laid bare. Dharali's entire market area is submerged, not a single structure in sight. A two-storey house has been dragged to the edges of the Bhagirathi riverbank, only part of its second floor and roof jutting out of the debris.
The viral video showing the flash flood consuming everything in its path was just the beginning. After the first major outburst, the deluge returned in waves.
Panwar told ThePrint he had vegetable patches and apple orchards that were destroyed in the flash flood. Most of the fields were downhill, near the banks of the river. Now, only a few apple trees remain, his only source of income.
'The durability and quality of the vegetables we grow here is very good. They don't spoil easily. We grow potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, peas and rajma (kidney beans),' he said, adding that the damage to his vegetable patches is in excess of Rs 5 lakh. This part of Uttarkashi is famous for its Red Royal variety of apples.
Panwar has decided to abandon the two-storey wood and cement house his grandfather built, now inundated with silt and debris. Although his family was evacuated by helicopter to Matli a day after the floods, he stayed back to gather what was left of their belongings.
'If another flood comes here, we won't be saved,' he said, adding that the village was struck by floods in 2013, 2017 and now in 2025. 'But at the time, it didn't do much damage. Now 50-60 people have lost their lives in the market area alone.'
Panwar pointed to an area right next to his house where his uncle lived. The patch of land is now covered in silt and debris, showing no signs of the house that once stood there. Referring to his cousin, Panwar told ThePrint that he 'had gone to the market to get cooking supplies; they just recovered his body'.
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Deputy Inspector General Parminder Singh had told ThePrint earlier that the flash flood happened at about 1:30 pm on 5 August and personnel from ITBP reached Dharali by 4:30 pm the same day.
In Pictures: A trail of debris, loss, feeble prayers—Scenes from Dharali, a village half buried under rubble
'It was like a blast-like sound'
Most of the surviving villagers have moved to higher ground, setting up camp near the temple where the government has been storing rations. Local leaders are distributing bags of rice, potatoes, tea, cooking oil, shoes, mattresses and towels with the help of personnel from the ITBP and Uttarakhand police.
Rajat Panwar was at this temple when the deluge came. 'It was like a blast-like sound. It strikes fear in my mind even now,' said Rajat, adding that he ran in the direction of higher ground and saw his family-owned hotel being submerged. 'I thought my immediate family members would drown, but they were safe. I lost some classmates and my aunt's son.'
Having lost his hotel and apple orchards, he doesn't have any means to feed his family or build a roof over their heads. Choking back tears, he pleaded to the government—for shelter and a source of livelihood. 'In some families, people have lost the main earner. The government should give some sort of permanent employment, not necessarily a government job, to one person in each family, so at least the house can function.'
'Neighbouring villages see each other as one'
In Harsil, some 7 km from Dharali, 18-year-old Shrikant Rawat runs up and down flights of stairs, ensuring guests in his family's hotel are taken care of. Rawat was in Dharali visiting relatives for a local festival when the flash flood struck Dharali and an Army camp in Harsil.
'I saw it with my own eyes,' said Rawat, who was on his way up to the temple when the flash flood came hurtling down the valley. 'Some people lost everything. What do village people have after all? Gold jewellery, fields, cows. Everything is gone for them.'
Rawat added that the deluge came in waves, each devouring whatever came in its way in the blink of an eye. When he returned to Harsil, he saw that his village wasn't spared either. Newly built resorts on the banks of the river had been destroyed.
'For us, villages that are right next to each other we see as one village,' said Rawat, adding that he didn't want any support for Harsil, people were able to manage there. It is Dharali that needs more help, where villagers are living without electricity or clean water.
Rawat said that between 50 to 80 people may have died in Dharali, a number he believes accurate based on conversations with local contractors, many of whom cannot account for migrant labourers. For now, these people are being counted as 'missing'.
'Village people are saying show us the body, because in everyone's mind they hold hope they will reunite with their loved ones,' he said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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