Leh:
After living in tents for over three months, the Ladakh flood victims have started shifting to the new houses, but construction work is not complete just yet and most people are still forced to live in the tents out in the open in the bitter winter cold.
There are nearly 160 families from Choglamsar region who have decided to shift into their new houses even though there is neither electricity nor water.
Most of them feel that the sum of Rs two lakh, that the government allocated to construct each house, was not enough.
35-year-old Stanzin Dolma, who lost her 14-year-old daughter Skamzang in the cloud burst said that she had to spend Rs three lakh of her own. "Friends and relatives and all other people helped," she said.
Most of the 650 houses are incomplete and with temperatures already falling below zero degree Celsius at night, living in the tents is becoming increasingly difficult.
"There are a lot of difficulties, the winter has set in, during the night, we wrap the baby in three blankets," said a local resident.
The story of Ladakh flood victims has been one of difficulties and hardships. While some people have been able to manage, there are many vulnerable who end up living at truck terminals in tented colonies. As winter sets in, it can snow anytime in Ladakh and then life will be even more difficult for the victims.