Five Raipur friends narrowly escaped Nepal’s flash floods after stopping for tea.
Their route was cut off after a bridge ahead was washed away.
The group spent two anxious nights sheltering on higher ground in Malekhu.
A group of five friends stopped for a tea break at a hotel in Malekhu in Nepal’s Dhading district, a decision that turned out to be lifesaving as they narrowly escaped the devastating flash floods that tore through parts of Nepal on August 26.
Narayan Sen, Dinesh Ojha, Prem Singh Jagat, Yatendra Prakash and Dinesh Singh Thakur, all aged between 50 and 60 and residents of Raipur’s Mana Camp area, were travelling through Nepal when the disaster struck. The group returned home safely on Saturday after spending two tense days stranded near the swollen Trishuli river.
Their journey had begun from Raipur on August 21, with the group reaching Nepal the following day. After hiring a vehicle, they planned to visit major religious and tourist destinations, including the Pashupatinath Temple and Manokamana Temple.
At around 9.30–10 am, the friends stopped for tea at a hotel in Malekhu in Nepal’s Dhading district. Soon afterwards, they learnt that a bridge on the route ahead had been swept away by floodwaters.
"We were lucky that we stopped for tea on August 26 when the flash floods struck. If we had left 10-15 minutes earlier, we might have got trapped," 53-year-old Narayan Sen, who runs a salon, told PTI Videos.
"Had we not stopped there, we do not know what would have happened," he added.
Flood Fury Unfolds Before Their Eyes
The hotel where the five men had stopped was owned by an Indian, who provided them with food and assistance as the situation deteriorated.
"There we learnt that a bridge ahead had been washed away in a flood. The hotel belonged to an Indian, who helped us a lot and provided us food," Sen said.
As news of the disaster spread, the friends began witnessing its scale first-hand. Floodwaters had overwhelmed the Trishuli river, sweeping away vehicles and debris in their path.
"We saw cars being swept away in the Trishuli river. Bodies and a lot of other things were also being carried away by the current. We were scared. There was always a fear that the flood situation might worsen," Sen said.
With roads disrupted and travelling further becoming unsafe, the men moved to higher ground in Malekhu. They eventually spent the night inside their rented vehicle.
Dinesh Singh Thakur, 55, a police head constable, said the group was around 50 km from the Pashupatinath Temple when the disaster struck.
"While having tea at the hotel, we noticed people suddenly becoming restive. Later, we learnt about the devastation caused by the flood. We heard that entire villages, buildings, offices and hydropower projects had been devastated," Thakur said.
The friends later went close to the bank of the Trishuli river to assess what had happened.
"What we saw is very difficult to describe in words," Thakur recalled.
"We kept chanting Lord Shiva's name, and we feel his blessings protected us," he added.
Two Nights Of Anxiety
Even after reaching relatively safer ground, the group remained concerned that another surge of water could hit the area.
There was no electricity or regular water supply, but local residents, police and administrative officials extended assistance to those stranded.
"There was no electricity and water, but the administration and police helped us. They told us that we were at a higher place and should not worry," Thakur said, as reported by PTI.
The friends were also able to remain connected with their families in India because internet services continued to function. They used the helpline issued by the Indian government to communicate their location.
"Internet service was working well there, so we remained in contact with our families and did not panic," Thakur said.
For Dinesh Ojha, who runs a tailoring shop, the nights remained particularly difficult as uncertainty over another possible flood kept the group on edge.
"We slept in our car, but we could not really sleep. There was always the fear that another flood might come," Ojha told PTI.
The group also witnessed families desperately trying to locate relatives who had disappeared in the disaster.
"We will never be able to forget what we saw. Many people were desperately searching for their missing family members," Ojha said.
Rakhi Moment Amid The Disaster
The five friends were eventually able to leave Nepal on August 28.
Amid the destruction and uncertainty, they also experienced an emotional moment involving women security personnel stationed in the affected area.
The travellers had been carrying rakhis given to them by their sisters as they had originally planned to return home only after the Raksha Bandhan celebrations. Women security personnel in Nepal tied those rakhis on the men's wrists while they remained stranded.
"We were supposed to return from the trip after the Rakhi festival, so our sisters had already given us rakhis. The women security personnel deployed there tied these rakhis on our wrists. That was the most comforting moment," Thakur said.
For the group, the experience turned what was supposed to be a religious and sightseeing trip into a narrow escape from one of the region's most destructive disasters.
Looking back at their ordeal after reaching Raipur, Ojha summed up the relief shared by the five friends.
"We are happy that finally we have reached back home," he said.
