As the rains were not as heavy as the previous day and had fully stopped by midnight, a team was despatched to check the river conditions in the next early morning. The team soon returned and informed that the river waters had receded and it was now possible to plan the return journey. Everyone looked restless as it had been 2 consecutive nights in the same place without much provisions and none could even change clothes having come fully unprepared for the stay.

After an early brunch of ‘khichdi (boiled rice, pulses and vegetables with salt) we set out on the journey towards Harnatar hoping to cross over the Masan and the hills and thus reach the district headquarters at Bagaha. The unmetalled roads had become soft after the rains but nevertheless allowed the movement of police vehicles, all of which had been equipped with four wheel drives.

Just about 3 kms after we left the forest rest house, there seemed to have been some problem when one of the wheels of the Landmine-proof vehicle in which I was seated got stuck in a channel made for irrigation of the fields near a culvert which capsized under the enormous weight of the vehicle designed to be a monster to take on the impact of landmines.

To be continued....