Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Hope floats for Kedarnath’s ‘village of widows’ -Amit Bhattacharya

Hope floats for Kedarnath’s ‘village of widows’ -Amit Bhattacharya

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Dec 17, 2013   modified Modified on Dec 17, 2013
-The Times of India


DEOLI VILLAGE (Uttarakhand): Savitri Devi was pregnant with her second child when she lost her husband to flash floods in Kedarnath. She gave birth two months later. Today, her four-month-old son is both a source of joy and a constant reminder of the tragedy.

Six months after the June 15-16 deluge, grief still hangs like a fog over Deoli-Bhanigram. Thirty-four women lost their husbands in this gram sabha, comprising six small villages nestled in the picturesque Kedar valley, earning the place the grim tag of the 'village of widows'. In all, 57 men died from this hamlet.

In Deoli, the sense of loss and disbelief is all pervading. Stoic village women, 14 of whom were widowed, choke with emotion while talking about the catastrophe.

"My husband, Hemant Tiwari, was the only earning member of the family. I lost everything with his passing," says Savitri, a widow at 27, her moist eyes glistening in the winter sun. Savitri has since being living at her father's house in Guptkashi.

Like most in the valley, men of Deoli-Bhanigram made a living from the Kedarnath yatra. Some were priests, others ran hotels and roadside eateries, and some others transported 'yatris' to the shrine on their mules.

"My husband called me on June 15. He said there was a lot of water all around. He, along with a group of people, had taken shelter next to a rock. That was the last time we spoke. I don't believe he is no more. They didn't let us see the dead bodies," says Preeta Devi, 38, who is left to raise two children all by herself. "My daughter, whose is 10 years old, sometimes shuts the door of her room and just cries," she adds, between sobs.

While the state gave Rs 5.25 lakh to each widow and Rs 5 lakh to other families who lost a kin, most widows were clueless on how they would start over. That's when NGO Sulabh International stepped in and adopted the gram sabha. Widows were given a monthly relief of Rs 2,000 and their children Rs 1,000 each from July.

On Sunday, 25 sewing machines and 12 computers were given to the widows and their children by Sulabh founder Bindeshwari Pathak. Besides, a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000 was announced for the 300-odd families who hadn't lost a kin but have been jobless since the yatra closed.

"We would be opening training centres at two places where women would learn sewing and children work on computers," Pathak said, adding that the centres' work would be expanded to include candle-making, knitting and other skills that can help villagers earn a livelihood.


The Times of India, 17 December, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hope-floats-for-Kedarnaths-village-of-widows/articleshow/27493189.cms


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close