He had gone along with 18 family members on a Char Dham Yatra to Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. But, the unfortunate and devastated man returned home on Saturday with just one survivor. Suraj Ratan Rathi (68) from Sambalpur in Odisha has become dumb-founded and speechless after losing 17 of his family members.
Suraj Rathi, who hails from Kehtrajpur, survived the nature’s fury along with his brother-in-law inod Kumar Mantri (58). The duo helplessly watched hundreds of people, including their family members being washed away by the flash floods, which were triggered by landslide and cloudbursts.
There is no hope of revival for any of Rathi’s family members, as he returned home after losing everything in Kedarnath. Those feared dead are Pushpa Rathi (63), Lalit Rathi (53), Girish Newar (60), Dev Kumar Rathi (46), Meenu Rathi (42), Prem Lata Newar (59), Kusum Mantri (56), Bela Mantri (54), Dilip Mantri (57), Shubham Rathi (14), Hemant Ladha (38), Jyoti Ladha (35), Gudia (5}, Babu (4), Alka Rathi (46), Kanta Rathi (56) and Sonal Rathi (44).
