UPDATE from Leh by Dr Biplav Agarwal ( 11th August 2010)

Greetings from leh

Apologies for delay in reporting, but I wanted to gather enough information and visit choglamsar in particular before getting back to you. We just got back from choglamsar and it was not pretty there.

The flight and landing were quite comfortable yesterday and the view from the plane window was in complete contrast with what lay ahead.

Day 1(10 th august)

The road out of the airport to leh central is covered in dust and the footpaths are covered with mud about three feet high. The new bus stand which was coming up has been completely demolished along with many three storey buildings in the area. Several cars have been carried onto the second floor of the buildings that remain and literally forced into the rooms, completely annihilated in the process.

After a long rest, we headed to the SNM hospital. The old building along with the equipment inside has been completely submerged in the mud while the new building escaped quite miraculously, although its quite dusty inside.

They started operating there yesterday and successfully delivered a baby by cesarean section which brought a smile to everyone's face. They have flown in a team of specialist doctors from safdarjung & RML to join the local doctors and they have brought the situation under control. They have ordered for more equipments from PGI chandigarh & delhi which are expected to arrive shortly

One of the nurses lost her husband and two children to the floods. She continues to work without giving a thought to her own personal tragedy.

We met with the health commissioner as well who is coordinating the demands of the doctors and the administrative staff.

We did a round of the wards where about 60 patients have been admitted including a couple of foreign nationals.

From there we headed to the general hospital under the army's command. Obiously better equipped and optimally manned, the general hospital sprand into action at 2.15 in the morning on the day of the floods and worked non-stop for 20 hours before the chaos could be overcome. They continue to put in their best and inspite of being a non-family hospital, have deliverd three healthy babies in the past two days(they only one crib though!). we did a round of the wards where over a hundred patients have been admitted. What was striking was the high percentage of admitted patients being from chattisgarh, esp from jagirchampa and bilaspur districts(working as labourers here).

The food served at the hospital is very good and nutritious but few have retained an appetite after the disaster and lie in their beds listlessly with the meal trays placed precariously in their laps. Quite a few have expressed suicidal thoughts as their complete families have been washed away and many broke down in front of us.

The ‘Miracle baby' – she was carried by the water all over the terrain for about 7 hours and yet survived, sustaining a head injury and dust infested eyes. The doctors cleaned her eyes under general anaesthesia and she seems to be making good progress. She was united with her mother a couple of days back.

The attending doctors, the principal matron & the nursing staff were all very warm and showed us around. Lastly we met the commanding officer who requested us to continue with our support once the emergency was over and the need would be for more emotional support than monetary. He signed off by saying “high altitudes can be extremely unforgiving.” You can say that again

Day 2(11 th august)

We headed out to choglamsar, the village that was washed away in toto, and as we came closer to the main village, the extent of the damage began dawning on us. Whole building and houses have been uprooted and what remains is a hole in the ground strews with giant stones and quicksand. The road itself has been reduced to half the original width as it is covered by mud about 10 feet high on either sides. The shop shutters have been forced in and the insides stuffed with the mud and debris the water brought along with it. Several vehicles have been crushed and forced into the shops and houses. The level of the village has been raised about 5 feet and one shudders at the thought of what might be lying buried under.

As we walk through the ruins, we can see around 40-50 foreign nationals and Indian tourists who have thrown themselves wholeheartedly into the cleaning work along with the residents and the locals. Spades and shovels and pretty much anything they can get their hands on are being used to sift through the mounds of mud inside the houses. The monastery was luckily spared but the local primary school was not so lucky.

We had a discussion with some of the village elders and a government employee who runs a DC handicrafts training institute under the ministry of textiles. He had 25 students of whom only 10 are accounted for as of today.

Choglamsar is as devastated as it comes across through media coverage or on national television and then some!

The biggest fear all around is “What Lies Beneath'

From leh in simultaneous awe and contempt of nature

Yours sincerely

biplav