The dream of a martyr’s family was shattered in the Dharali disaster. After the father’s martyrdom, his wife and son chose the path of struggle and weaved many dreams to live a better life. They saw many ups and downs in life. Now everything was going well, but the devastation in Kheer Ganga on August 5 destroyed their golden dreams in a moment.
Manoj Bhandari’s father Rajendra Mohan Bhandari, a resident of Malna village of Dunda block, was posted as a constable in the ITBP. At the age of 28, he was martyred while fighting terrorists in Punjab on May 9, 1991. At that time Manoj was just two and a half years old and mother Kusum Lata Bhandari was 21 years old. After the martyrdom of her husband, the mother educated her son.
The mother’s hard work paid off and in 2011 Manoj became a sub-inspector pharmacist in the ITBP. During this time he served in Madhya Pradesh, Matli and Ladakh. In 2020, he decided to return to Uttarkashi with BRS, so that he could stay with his mother and take better care of her and the family.
Built a 14-room resort by leasing land amidst apple orchards
Manoj first started a medical business in Uttarkashi, then dreamed of promoting self-employment and tourism. In 2024, he took a loan of Rs 50 lakh from the bank against his mother’s pension. Manoj’s dream was to provide self-employment to the local youth. For this purpose, he built a 14-room resort by leasing land amidst apple orchards below the Kalp Kedar temple in Dharali.
Seven people used to work there. On August 5, the day Kheer Ganga wreaked havoc, only three people were present in the resort, who were successful in saving their lives, but the resort turned into rubble in no time. Manoj says that he had never even seen his father’s face properly.
I have recognized him only in photographs. After this disaster in Dharali, their situation has become the same as it was when their father was martyred in 1991. The family’s hopes are now pinned only on the government as to how it will rehabilitate the affected people.
