Eleven-month-old Nitika has become the face of the Seraj tragedy in Mandi district as help is pouring in along with offers to adopt the infant whose parents and grandmother were washed away in the flood fury on the night of June 30.
On the fateful night, it rained misery, leaving no trace of hundreds of houses. Her family was washed away by the gushing waters and slush that ravaged various villages in the Seraj area.
“As the water in two nullahs on both sides of the house soared around 10 pm, Nitika’s father Ramesh, mother and grandmother rushed out to divert the flow of the water, which had started entering their house,” said Nitika’s uncle Balwant in Parwada village. All this while, Nitika was fast asleep inside the house.
Unaware of a cloudburst in the higher reaches, the three were washed away by the sudden gushing waters while trying to save their house. As luck would have it, Nitika was saved even as the floodwaters wreaked havoc.
The body of her father was found close to the house but those of her mother and grandmother still remain untraceable.
Unaware of the tragedy that has struck the family, Nitika is with her relatives but her frequent crying indicates that she is searching for her mother’s comfort.
Villagers said as the flashfloods wreaked havoc, neighbours heard Nitika crying. It is then that they realised that there was no trace of her family and she was alone in the house.
Images of Nitika in the arms of Smritika Negi, acting SDM, Gohar, went viral on social media. Offers to adopt the child along with monetary assistance poured in from within and outside Himachal.
However, her paternal aunt, Tara Devi, has expressed the desire to bring up Nitika and doesn’t want her to be adopted.
Smritika told The Tribune that the Mandi district administration had opened an account in the name of Nitika so that all financial help coming from NGOs and individuals could be deposited in her name.
A sum of Rs 25,000 has been deposited in her account by the government and the entire amount that comes will remain in Nitika’s name, which only she can use after she turns 18.