KISHTWAR – The serene pilgrimage to the Machail Mata temple turned into a nightmare for hundreds when a massive cloudburst triggered flash floods, engulfing the remote village of Chositi in Jammu and Kashmir. In the immediate aftermath, at least 60 people lost their lives, but countless others lived to tell stories of miraculous survival.
For nine-year-old Devanshi, the ordeal began at a small Maggi shop where she and her family had sought shelter. The flash flood hit with such force that the shop was buried under a deluge of mud and debris. “I couldn’t breathe,” she recalled, the fear still present in her voice. Hours later, Devanshi and her family were rescued by her uncle and other villagers who painstakingly removed the wooden planks trapping them. “Mata saved us,” she repeated, a common refrain among survivors.
