Malin (Pune): Once a happy hamlet, Malin will soon turn into a ghost town, as survivors do not want to live with the fear and grief of the landslide disaster that killed their loved ones.
Survivors were seen leaving for good with whatever they could salvage from their destroyed homes.
The hamlet was reduced to four five houses and a school building, which was not damaged.
Chimabai and Lakshman Zanjre, a couple in its fifties, were returning from Malin with a bag of clothes and an oil can. The Zanjre couple was saved, as they rushed after their roof caved in from one side.
“But others weren’t as lucky. They all were buried alive in front of our eyes. We are scared and it feels horrible to stay in the empty hamlet. We are not going to return. We hope the government rehabilitated survivors away from this place,” Chimabai said. Her brother had come to take the couple away to stay at his residence.
Another survivor, who also managed to escape from her home, Anusuya Zanjre, was already packing her bags to leave Malin.
“There is a bustle in the hamlet due to the rescue operation and curious relatives. But, after a few days everyone will be leaving and I don’t want to stay alone in this haunted place. It’s unimaginable to stay without our neighbours with whom we have shared happy and sorrowful moments. I do not know where I will go, but I will not stay here,” Anusuya said.
Tanaji Gadade, Police patil of neighbouring Adivare village, concurred.
He was among the first few who rushed to the hamlet after the horrorstruck survivors fled after the tragedy.
