The Garg family of Vadodara was stuck in a car for 52 hours in Himachal, said- ‘Stones were falling behind the car, saw the car and the bridge stretching into the river’ | Garg family from Vadodara stuck in car for 52 hours straight in Himachal Pradesh, says: ‘Stones were falling behind car, saw cars and bridges in river’

The 8-day trip to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh became a memory of death for the Garg family of Vadodara, which they will never forget. Our car was the last among 400 cars in the mountains for 52 hours. Even after returning home after fighting against a situation where there is no going forward and no going back, the sounds of rocks falling from the mountains, a broken bridge over the river and the cars moving around are still in front of the eyes of the Garg family. Reflecting on his frightening memories, he said that there was a time when we felt that we would be able to get out of this situation or not?​​​​​​

The road to Delhi was blocked
Amol Garg, the head of a Vadodara family who returned from Himachal, said, ‘We went on an 8-day trip to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh due to the children’s vacation. We traveled by train from Vadodara to Amritsar, where we visited the Golden Temple and the Wagah border before leaving for Manali. Manali was our 5 day tour program, where we returned from Manali to Delhi by car. When we reached 60 km from Manali, we found that the road ahead was closed and no one was allowed to go further, so we decided to return to Manali.’

Around 400 cars were trapped
He further said that when we turned back to go to Manali and reached a village 2 kms further, we found stones lying on the road and the road was broken, so we got stuck on the road. We were in no position to go forward or backward. About 400 cars were stuck in half a kilometer area near Aud village, in which our car was the last one and in this situation we were sitting waiting when the road will be cleared? And off we go. I, my wife, son, daughter and our driver were sitting in the car for 52 hours straight, because it was raining outside. These 52 hours were ours in the car, neither we could sleep nor we could get out of the car.’

Stones were falling behind the car
He added, ‘The village where we were stuck had food nearby, but we could not get out of the car as it was raining continuously. At night when the rain stopped we could get out of the car for a while. Even when we got out of the car at night, we were in a state of fear, as there was constant sound of river water and stones falling behind our car. We also saw a car floating in the river. Besides, there was a bridge over the river between the temple and the village, which was also swept away by the flood. Seeing all these horrible scenes in front of our eyes at night, we wanted to leave here as soon as possible, but looking at the situation, we did not think that we would be able to leave.’

‘Spent 67 hours in the car without sleeping’ – Amol Garg
Amol Garg said that ‘When we talked to the policemen, we used to ask when will we be able to leave here? So they used to say that we can’t do anything further till the rain stops. When the rain stopped for 12 to 13 hours, it was felt that now everything will be cleared. However, even after this, 400 vehicles were pulled out one by one within a period of 4 to 6 hours. 52 hours we were stuck in the car and then 15 hours it took us to reach Delhi, that is 67 hours we spent in the car without sleep. Now we have come home and relaxed. While we were in the car, we were in constant fear that something major would happen, but the local people were very supportive and encouraged us.’

Daughter’s oxygen level was down – Dr. Archana Garg
Dr. Acharna Garg said, ‘On reaching Manali, my daughter fell ill, her oxygen level went down, so she had to be admitted to the hospital. It was raining on one side and stones were falling from the mountains behind. We were stuck in the car for 52 hours. We were stuck in a very bad situation as we were constantly sitting in the car. In the car, the legs were not straightened, one had to sit stiffly all the time. Couldn’t even go out as it was raining continuously outside.’

We encouraged each other
He further said that there was a lot of frustration in such a situation. We used to get angry at each other, but then we thought that we don’t know how many days we will have to take in this situation, so we encouraged each other. I kept giving medicines to my daughter as I had taken medicines with me, so that her condition did not worsen.

We were constantly afraid
He added that our car was last. Stones were falling from the hills behind it. The sound of river water was heard and there were no lights in the village, so we felt constant fear. Water lines were broken due to the flood, causing severe water shortages and no water supply for 52 hours.

I was constantly worried
Amolbhai’s 72-year-old mother Kusumben Garg said that I was alone at home and could not have any contact with him, so I was constantly worried. I was praying to God that my family would come home safely.