A weekend escape to the charming, yet risky, Bulchol Waterfall located in the Dima Hasao district of Assam, canopied by nature’s beauty, turned to be a calamity for the academic milieu of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Silchar. The waterfall’s waters on Saturday afternoon claimed to drown three brilliant, first-year B.Tech students.
The tragic accident that claimed the lives of two NIT Silchar students and one more student of a small group on a trip to the beautiful yet secluded area, erupted among the early reports as the one student who had fallen into the deep water was saved by the other two who drowned.
The event has shocked and astonished the whole NIT Silchar Community and at the same time it has alerted the public to the fact that nature’s unpredictability can be very dangerous, especially when it comes to the case of water bodies after the monsoon when people think it is safe because the currents and water levels are still dangerously high.
Rescue Operation Challenges: Remote Terrain and Poor Connectivity
Rescue operations as a reaction to the calamity were significantly delayed due to the waterfall’s isolation and the unavailability of communication facilities in the vicinity. The local police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had to face great hardships in terms of logistics while reaching the Bulchol (Hmunthajao) waterfall located in Bolsom Bagan, Harangajao.
The unreliable mobile connectivity very much made it so that the central authorities and the personnel on the ground could not coordinate and communicate quickly, thereby slowing down the initial emergency efforts. All the three bodies were recovered by Sunday but the delay has pointed out the major area of concern for better infrastructure and preparedness in remote areas that are frequented by tourists and are high on the risk scale.
NIT Silchar Mourns: Loss of Young Lives
The deceased students, all of them first-year B.Tech, were identified as Sauhard Rai (20) and Sarbavartika Singh (20) from Uttar Pradesh, and Radhika (19) from Bihar. The entire NIT Silchar community absolutely shares the sorrow and feels the loss of the three little ones who were just starting and had their lives taken away by this untimely incident.
The college officials including the Director expressed their condolences and said that a group had been sent to the spot to cooperate with the police, provide assistance to the families of the dead students, and monitor the situation.
This awful occurrence is a very tragic reminder to all vacationers about the need to be extremely careful at visiting places, especially in shallow-water areas that may not look dangerous but have strong undercurrents and can be pretty hazardous.
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A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
