Dataram missed the bus while fetching water, and it saved his life

Dataram Devkota had been disappointed to miss the pilgrimage bus. Then he learned that the vehicle had been swept away by a flood.

The 75-year-old from Gorkha had planned to travel from Palungtar to Gosainkunda on Aug. 26. He had spent the night packing and was told pilgrims would gather at 4 a.m. and leave at 5. But the bus arrived at about 3 a.m., before he had finished preparing.

Devkota tried to stop it outside his home. The vehicle continued to Mahadevatar, where he expected to board. He brought his bags outside, but suddenly remembered that he needed water. By the time he found a bottle in the kitchen and returned, the bus had already left.

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Thank God, I survived.

He put his belongings back inside and rested, still regretting the missed journey. After breakfast, panic spread through the village. The bus that had left without him had been swept away.

“Thank God, I survived,” Devkota said. He believes divine intervention kept him from boarding. “I feel that God blocked my way to save me,” he said. His son and daughter-in-law had also planned to make the trip but did not go. Devkota survived, but he remains devastated that 32 people from his village were swept away. The village of Naukhor is also mourning those who died or disappeared with the bus.

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I feel that God blocked my way to save me.