JOIN USForty-year-old Maali Devi is inconsolable. Her three children were crushed under the debris in the massive landslide that claimed over 50 lives in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.
Less than two years ago, she lost her husband Anil in a road accident.
Maali was anxiously waiting for her children at the Kullu bus stand when she was informed about the tragedy. At first, she refused to believe. As a widow, her kids were her only hope.
Her sister-in-law Geeta, who was accompanying the kids, was also crushed under the debris.
Maali’s children, Muskaan (14), Palak (9) and Aarman (9), were returning from Chamba when the bus they were travelling in was hit by a massive landslide that swept the vehicle off the road to the edge of the mountain.
“God cannot do this to me. I have no reason to live. My children were my last hope. It’s all over,” she cried.
Maali is a native of Chamba but had shifted to Kullu for employment. Her children had gone to meet their grandparents.
A family member said Maali had planned to celebrate Krishna Janmashtami with her kids. But destiny had something else in store.
Maali had also rushed to the accident site with her relatives, hoping to find her children alive.
Meanwhile, the death toll has crossed 50. Forty-six bodies have been identified and handed over to the next of the kin of the deceased.