27-year-old school teacher Rituraj Phukan was swept away in the floods trying to rescue his students
As water levels recede in Meghalaya and Assam after the recent flash floods and landslides, Stories are now emerging now of the immense tragedy.
The flash floods, triggered off by a massive cloud-burst in South West Garo Hills district in Meghalaya on Sunday night, caused landslides throughout the region.
The memories of the last few days , are still too painful for Frinchi Sangma and her friends , students at the River Side School in Meghalaya's Bajenjdoba . The school's computer sciences teacher , 27 year old Rituraj Phukan died trying to rescue children as a combination of landslides and floods hit the school on the morning of September 22
Rituraj had been teaching here since 2008 , and in an act of immense bravery he chose not to escape once the floods hit , rescuing as many as 5 children before he slipped and was swept away
Frinchi breaks down while speaking to us , saying , " We used to like him very much , he was a good teacher and very friendly"
As we travel a few kilometres of slush roads ahead , to Rari , we find a young couple at the hospital there , whose two children got buried alive in a landslide in front of their eyes , on Monday morning . The couple, who are still hospitalised, sit at their hospital beds and stare into empty space . One child was 7 years old, the other barely a year and a half old.
For more than 10 lakh people who have been affected in these floods and landslides, life ahead seems full of challenges as they try to put the tragedy behind them.