SHILLONG: The Ahmed family of Dhobi Ghat in Lower Lumparing here is in a state of shock, struggling to come to terms three days after the cruel hand of death snatched from them their beloved Rezia, a talented footballer-turned-cricketer of the state.
The death of Rezia Ahmed, along with her cousin, Feroza Khan, and three others, in a massive landslide at Mawnei on Friday morning, means that the family has lost two earning members — a double whammy for the economically struggling family.
The five were washed away into a nearby stream. The bodies of three deceased have been retrieved so far.
Sitting with a couple of relatives near the debris left from the unfortunate incident on the morning of September 25, Rezia’s father, Farid Ahmed, who also lost his niece, Feroza, broke down when he recalled that ill-fated day.
“It was raining heavily and then lightning struck at 6.15am following which the entire hillock collapsed on the house where my daughter and his niece were sleeping,” the teary-eyed Ahmed said.
“I have not lost a daughter. I have lost a son and she was my son,” the 68-year-old distraught father said, while calling himself the “unluckiest person in this world.”
A father of three sons and two daughters, Ahmed said that the sight of the mishap was so harrowing that his feet almost became numb and he had lost sense of what actually happened.
“Rezia was scheduled to go outside the state for her games but all her plans were cancelled due to the lockdown,” he said, adding that “in the evening, the two (daughter and niece) used to go for accounting work and come back home on time.”
Lamenting that both the girls did not even get a chance to save their lives, he said that both Rezia and Feroza have both grown up in the same compound.
“Rezia was an ardent lover of cats,” he added, while sharing his memories of his daughter.
According to Ahmed, it was his son who first found a dead cat (belonging to Rezia) at the site of the landslide. “Then they started searching for the body of Rezia in the same location as she often used to sleep with her cats,” he said.
Ahmed further shared that many people had told them time and again before to shift to another location even as he had stayed there since as early as 1971.
“People often ask us to move out from the location and we too wanted a good house in another locality. But as you know, having a home in Shillong is an expensive affair and I cannot afford it,” he said.
When asked if he has received any help from the government and the authorities, Ahmed said that he had lost everything in the incident and now his only concern was the treatment of those who sustained injuries.
“After the funeral of my niece, I will see what is to be done,” he said.
Recalling the tragic incident, Hasim Uddin, a resident of the locality who survived Mother Nature’s fury along with his brother Ajjim Uddin said, “It happened within seconds. We were flowing in the water as my house was washed away and I felt that my soul was coming out and realizing that death was near, I tried my best to save myself and somehow managed to hold on to some bushes downstream.”
A pall of gloom has descended on the locality since the tragedy, as Hasim Uddin and Ahmed now hope and pray that such tragedies should never visit anyone, not even their worst enemies.
Feroza tests positive
Meanwhile, the body of Feroza was recovered on Saturday from Mawdun near Mawiong and brought to NEIGRIHMS hospital for post mortem.
However, when a COVID test was conducted, she tested positive for the virus posthumously.
The family members of the deceased however are not willing to accept that the deceased tested positive at NEIGRIHMS.
Zuber Ahmed, a cousin of Feroza said the body was recovered on Saturday night and they were told that the body could only be seen the next morning.
“The next day when we reached hospital, we were told that one patient died due to COVID-19 and the body cannot be seen until it was sanitised,” he said
He questioned how his sister, who was in water for many days after losing her life in the tragic incident, was infected with COVID-19 even as he maintained that his sister was fit and fine before the incident.
“My sisters have come from Assam with special passes for the funeral and we are being harassed. They should have some compassion as we want to give her a decent farewell,” Ahmed said.
Farida Khan, sister of Feroza, said the NEIGRIHMS authorities have not even allowed them to see the body, maintaining that they were following protocol.
Meanwhile, NEIGRIHMS director, P. Bhattacharya informed that according to protocol a COVID test on any patient or a body brought to the hospital, was mandatory.
“The result (of Feroza) has come after 24 hours and she tested positive,” Bhattacharya said.
He said the authorities will, according to protocol, hand it over to the Shillong Municipal authorities for her final rites.