The beginning of July unites the masses of India to patiently await the relieving monsoon season. Rains from the southwest slowly sweep the scorching summer away, targeting the western side, to begin with, and providing nourishment to crops.
However, the rains suddenly start causing havoc by flooding cities down in the plains. Furthermore, up north, water seeps into rocks causing them to rumble down the slopes causing great damage to property and human life.
Mussoorie is one such hill station where annual landslides caused by monsoons result in great damage. Over the years, news of landslides washing away cars and human lives have been heard in and around Mussoorie.
This year was no different: the rains started in July, sometimes raining continuously throughout the night and some parts of the day. The pleasantly cool mornings no longer bring out bright days that one can look forward to but instead they bring out the devastation.
One man in Mussoorie, who’s come here to work, found half of his car under a pile of rocks on Tehri Road, right below the Landour Community Hospital (LCH).
When he found out, he came running up to his car around noon, and with the help of his friend managed to contact government clerks who could assist in extracting the car from the mess.
Over the years, many tourists who come to Mussoorie to escape the summer heat often lose their cars under debris as they don’t notice the loose rubble on the side of the hills.
In fact, a week earlier the LCH incident, another group of tourists was unfortunate enough to find their car buried under heavy debris.
As of the locals, many have seen some damage to houses that are built on the slopes; however, learning from the tourists, most local cars can be found parked under pushtas, man-made walls that support and hold the slopes like trees used to.
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