Mohammad Latief’s life was forever changed when a landslide hit his five-storeyed house in Jammu’s Poonch district in the early hours of July 19. The house, which locals referred to as the ‘Taj Mahal’, was reduced to its steel frame, but it’s not the loss of his home that Latief mourns – it’s the loss of his family. His wife, Noor Safia, 45, daughter Khalda Kousar, 25, three sons, Sajad Ahmed, 16, Haq Nawaz, 10, and Shah Nawaz, 10, and a toddler grandson, Sufian, 1, were buried under the rubble.
The landslide, triggered by the relentless downpour that has assailed the Union Territory since July 19, has claimed the lives of 28 people so far, with 22 of them from Poonch alone. Eight people were buried under the landslide that hit Latief’s house, six of them his family members. Only the bodies of his wife, Noor Safia, and two relatives, Bano Bi, 60, and Mohammad Akram, 7, have been found, and the search continues for the rest.
Latief, who began working in Saudi Arabia in 1998 and was home on six months’ leave, recalls the fateful night when he woke up to the sound of thunder at 3 am and headed outside to move his vehicle to a safer location. His wife called him to hurry back, but by the time he returned, his home was gone, buried under large boulders and mud. Latief had built the house over seven years, sparing no expense in making it a comfortable home for his family.
Even the taps fitted in the bathrooms and kitchen were bought from abroad. Despite the loss, he accepts the will of God and is now desperate to find the remains of his family. His only hope is to find any survivors under the debris, and he is holding on to that hope as he navigates this difficult time.
Latief’s daughter Farida Kousar, who is married and living in Murrah, and his son Sarfaraz, an 18-year-old studying in Jammu, are his only surviving children. The relentless rain and landslides in Jammu and Kashmir have prompted the government to suspend traffic on highways and the ongoing Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and National Conference MP Mian Altaf had a close call on July 22 when a landslide nearly hit the vehicle they were travelling in to visit Rajouri and Poonch districts to oversee rescue operations.
The situation remains dire, with many families affected by the natural disaster.
