Chamarajanagar family escapes death in Chooralmala landslide

CHAMARAJANAGAR: A family of tea estate workers from Chamarajanagar escaped death in the Chooralmala landslide, but witnessed their cattle being washed away in the flood water.

Jayashree and her family worked in a tea estate at Chooralmala and had reared cows to supplement their income. Narrating the ordeal to Public TV, she said, “We hardly sleep at night and keep a torch handy. That night, the cattle started making loud noises and when we went out and examined, the cattleshed was flooded. We couldn’t even untie the cows”, she said.

Jayashree said their neighbour Vinod, who is her sister-in-law’s son, saved them by holding their hand and pulling them away from the water. “My son was caught in the water, but he too was saved. Our family is safe now, but all the cash and jewellery kept in the house is gone. The cows which were our lifeline were also swept away. We don’t know what lies ahead for us”, she said.

The couple and their son have moved to their daughter’s house in Chamarajanagar for now.

Jayashree and her husband Siddaraju had been living in Chooralmala for the last 35 years and working in a tea estate apart from rearing cows. They managed to save themselves on that fateful day by climbing to higher ground. The cows were washed away and their house completely damaged. She and her family have now returned to her daughter’s home in Chamarajanagar.