It’s been over a week since the tragic drowning of over 20 VNR college students in Himachal Pradesh’s Beas river. Search and rescue teams are still looking for bodies and officials have launched an investigation to determine if that deadly flood of dam water was indeed, human error. And back home, the survivors of the horrible incident are trying their best to keep their sanity — haunted by images of their close friends being swept away mixed with a crippling sense of helplessness.
Most of the survivors are believed to have fallen into a deep depression, and it is feared that some may never really recover from the mental trauma they suffered that day. So the parents are being extremely cautious. “We just don’t turn on our TV anymore. And I’m trying to protect my son from watching the news. He has become so fragile now and those visuals could increase his trauma,” survivor Srujan’s father, Vishwanath reveals.
Srujan breaks down into tears each time the event is mentioned and constant replays of the incident on the television have left him disturbed. Phone calls and friends have been of no help either. “My daughter is not in a state to respond to any queries at all and I think, she’ll need some time to recover from the shock,” says another parent Manjula, who’s worried about her daughter G. Rishika.
Experts are finally admitting that the students could be in need of immediate counselling, to help them move on and continue with daily life. With the VNR college set to open in a few days, the first months will be testing, especially amidst empty chairs. The President of the Hyderabad Psychiatric Society Dr. PCB Gupta maintains that counselling is a must and should also come quick.
"It's now obvious that the survivors are suffering from anxiety and post-traumatic stress. They surely are in need of proper counseling and care," he said. Authorities at VNR Vignana Jyothi college are also likely to conduct counseling for the students, if need be. "If it is necessary, we will get counseling experts for our students,” said an official from the college, Mr. K. Gopal Reddy.
