Did bad omens precede Beas disaster?
HYDERABAD: Accidents do not occur with warning bells sounding a forewarning all round, but they just happen in a split second leaving irrevocable damage and unfilled void.
Hours before the tragedy struck 24 students of VNR Vignana Jyothi in the form of surging waters, the nature which had a premonition of a waiting-disaster haunted them in the form of bad omens, but in vain. This sense of foreboding was hardly any indication for the victims, says their friends.
Six days into the tour already, the students were no less excited when they were traveling from Shimla to Manali on the fateful day. But before reaching the death lap at the Beas river, there was something wrong unexpectedly in a tour that was going very-planned: the bus which ferried the students punctured twice before reaching the spot, the places that were marked in the tour itinerary could not be visited as there was some confusion in the organising members, shares alumnus J Rajesh recounting the flow of events as narrated by a survivor.
'With hindsight, one could say, may be, these were indications from either god or nature about the worst to happen. There was disarray all around in a trip that was well organised before they alighted at the Beas river,' he said as tears welled up in his eyes.
Although, it was not part of itinerary the scenic beauty of the environs of the Beas river drew the students to the waters, he added.
When the foaming waters chased them, the victims knew their death was imminent. But they decided to face the deadly waters together as they clasped each others hands tightly and cowered on the slippery rocks.
'There were three rocks on which the students were standing. Had the students who were close to bank had escaped at least some of them would have been saved.
Instead, in a bid to rescue their friends, some waited on slippery rocks extending hands to others, but they could not resist the force of the water. Meanwhile, all of them have been washed away,' informs a student of the college Ch Arjun based on the survivors' narration.
News Posted: 14 June, 2014
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