Walked a day for a meal, says survivor

“I was trekking with two other people in Langtang, 150 km from the epicentre, when the earthquake struck. We had to walk for over five and a half hours to reach the nearest district headquarters, and for an entire day on one meal,” recollected Retd Wing Commander T Sridharan, Chairman of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), South Zone Committee. 

Speaking to Deccan Herald following his return to the City, he said: “I normally go trekking in April-May. This time, I was accompanied by two more trekkers—Tomas Obtulovic, an  orthopedist and climber from the Czech Republic, and Kozo Ogeri, a student from Japan.” 

Sigh of relief

They started feeling the tremors when walking from Langtang. “We took shelter below rocks. After things settled down, we started walking again. The nearest town was Siberbesi, which had completely closed down. Everything was reduced to rubble. We saw over 200 locals and 20 foreigners sleeping in open fields there,”  said Sridharan.

They had to walk on a two-foot-wide trail for over five and half hours to reach there. They then walked to the nearest district headquarters another 15 kilometres away in Dhunche. “That is where we saw officials from the Indian Air Force and heaved a sigh of relief that we were safe. It was there that we ate the first meal (since the quake), which was only dinner,” said Sridharan.

“We were stranded for two days, and had almost nothing to eat. We found peanuts to eat for lunch. There is shortage of food, water and medical facilities there. While the focus is on the epicentre, aid is not reaching remote places, where the devastation is more,” he said, adding: “I returned to the City to mobilise resources to be sent to Nepal, especially to Sherpas. Tomas and Kozo have stayed back and are helping the survivors, having extended their vacation.” 

The IMF has 120 members across India, of which four are from Karnataka and one is from Hyderabad. Most of these climbers know the terrain and have good relationship with the climbers association in Nepal and the Sherpas.