‘Kept trying to catch him’: Father of child swept away in Assam floods recounts ordeal

Avinash’s tragedy has shaken a state where children account for a significant number of deaths caused by the floods. Among 34 people who have died in flood-related incidents in the state since June 29, 12 are children.

As of Sunday, 66 people had died in flood-related incidents this year while 22.7 lakh people continue to be affected by it.

Avinash had fallen off his father’s scooter and into the open drain on July 4 while riding home with his father Horolal and cousin. Horolal was taking the two children home through the rain after closing up his mechanic shop in Guwahati’s Bamunimaidan.

“The three of us were on my scooter and he was sitting right at the front. Due to rain, there was no electricity and the streetlights were not working. Waterlogging had also started so it was not possible to see the road… Around 1 km from my shop, the scooter skidded. My son fell forward into the open drain, I grabbed him and fell in with him,” he said.

Both father and son were washed away. “He was around four feet ahead of me and I kept trying to catch up with him but couldn’t. Both of us were getting carried by the current. Somewhere near my shop, I grabbed a slab of the footpath and pulled myself up. From there, I ran to the next part where the drain opened but I couldn’t see him in the darkness,” he said.

Since then, Horolal has been looking for his son, and returned home Saturday in Guwahati’s Noonmati after searching for three days. He came back after an assurance from Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. Teams of police, the NDRF and State Disaster Response Force were involved in the search.

Meanwhile, eight other people died in flood-related incidents Sunday, of which three — two in Nalbari and one in Dhubri —were children.