Ukhrul, AUGUST 5 | EKHON: In the early hours of August 5, the lives of NK Mahai and his wife, NK Anna from Chingai village, were upended when a massive landslide, triggered by incessant rainfall, severely damaged their house in Kamphasom, Ukhrul headquarter town, rendering the structure unfit for habitation.
While public attention has largely focused on the students injured in the disaster, the couple are quietly grappling with the loss of their life savings, which they had painstakingly invested in building the house as a source of rental income and a means of securing their future.
For Anna, the devastation was overwhelming. She broke down in tears upon seeing the condition of the house, which had represented years of sacrifice and hard work.
Yet, even as they struggled to come to terms with their own loss, the couple turned their attention to their tenants, many of whom were students injured in the incident. Despite being traumatised themselves, Mahai and Anna have been visiting hospitals, assisting the injured and doing what they can to support their tenants through the aftermath of the disaster.
During a visit to the damaged house, Mahai struggled to contain his emotions as he stood before what was meant to become the couple’s future source of security.
The house had been built from their modest earnings from taxi services and a small pan shop. Unable to finance the construction at once, the couple built the house gradually over a period of four to five years, investing whatever they could save along the way.
“My wife and I are not salaried employees; we have struggled to make ends meet. This house was built from whatever little we could earn and save. We could not afford to construct it all at once, so we built it little by little over four to five years,” Mahai told EKHON.
But shortly after the long-awaited completion of the house, disaster struck.
“And just as we completed the house, this tragedy happened. There are no words to describe what I feel. My heart is completely broken,” he said, visibly overcome by grief.
Mahai said he had never anticipated that a landslide of such magnitude could occur.
“As the owner of the house, I never expected a landslide of this magnitude to happen. I am from Chingai, and many of the students staying at my house have been injured,” he said.
The aftermath has left him struggling to process the loss while simultaneously caring for those injured in the incident.
“Since that fateful day, I have been lost in shock and grief. I am confused about where to focus my attention, whether on dealing with my own loss or helping the injured tenants and ensuring they receive the care they need,” he said.
Given the scale of the disaster, the retaining wall around the property appears to have played a crucial role in preventing an even greater tragedy. The wall bore the brunt of the landslide and helped minimise its impact on the house. Had the retaining wall not been in place, the consequences could have been far more devastating.
There was also a narrow escape for one of the tenants. It was learnt that the tenant had changed the position of the bed only a few days before the incident. Had the bed remained in its previous position, the landslide could potentially have resulted in a fatality.
For Mahai and Anna, however, the close call offers little consolation amid the destruction of the home they spent years building.
“What has happened is heartbreaking. I still cannot comprehend it,” Mahai said.
With the couple now facing the loss of their primary investment and source of future income, Mahai has appealed to the concerned authorities at the district level for assistance.
“I would like to appeal to the concerned authorities at the district level for help and assistance during this difficult time.” he said.
Two other families were also affected by the landslide. Although they had not yet built houses on their plots, one family had recently completed a retaining wall in preparation for constructing a house. However, the retaining wall was completely destroyed by the landslide, leaving no visible trace that it had ever existed.
As the affected community continues to recover from the devastation caused by the landslide and heavy rains, the story of Mahai and Anna draws another dimension of the disaster, the often-overlooked losses suffered by ordinary families whose years of savings and hard work can be wiped out in a matter of minutes.
