76 bodies have been recovered so far in the Pune landslide that devastated the mountain village of Malin in Ambegaon Taluk as rescue operations entered the fourth day.
National Disaster Rescue Force personnel, working frantically amidst the stench of death emanating from the rubble, struggled to extricate the remaining bodies in what is turning to be one of the worst disasters that hit Maharashtra in recent times.
The toll included 37 women and 10 children. Around 100 people trapped under the debris are yet to be accounted for, fear district authorities. Barely eight survivors were flushed out on the first day of rescue operations.
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“While inclement weather is the eternal obstacle, the marshy soil is bogging us down. We expect operations to stretch for the next 48 hours,” said Alok Awasthy, commandant of the Talegaon-based 5th NDRF Battalion.
Malin, cruelly transformed overnight into a mass cremation ground, witnessed heart-rending as relatives of the deceased attempted to pick the threads of their lives among the ruins.
Chimabai Jhanjre and her husband, Laxman, among the handful who escaped the tragedy, returned to the site of destruction for the last rites of their relatives.
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More than 1 lakh kg of wood and 3,000 litres of petrol, with vehicles tyres urgently rushed in from garages in Manchar, Ghodegaon and Junnar to sustain the fires, were used in cremation, say district sources.
“What an appalling waste of life. I never imagined I would have to attend to the cremation of so many of my near and dear ones during my lifetime,” said an inconsolable Laxman, remarking that it was pointless for them to return to Malin.
A similar refrain was echoed by other survivors.
“This is the last time I’m seeing Malin. I will never come back here again,” says Anusuya Jhanjre, who ran for dear life on seeing the mountain cave in through her kitchen window.
The shock has barely sunk in, as she packs her bags to leave for Pune — abandoning her paddy farm and her roots.