GUWAHATI: The puppy is alive. The boy who risked his life to save it is not. At the home of 13-year-old Class VII student Ridip Panika in Bamunpukhuri village of Nazira, Sivasagar, the little puppy called Barun quietly moves around the portrait of the boy who called him ‘jaan’.Visitors come to pay tribute to Ridip, who was swept away by floods while the puppy whom he went to save appears to search for his friend who never returned.Ridip was swept away by raging floodwaters on July 19 when he tried to rescue Barun after the puppy jumped into the surging water.On Wednesday, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the flood-ravaged village and the bereaved family. He handed over a relief assistance cheque of Rs 5 lakh to Ridip’s parents, Dipak and Bharati Panika. The visit turned emotional when Sarma embraced Bharati as she broke down in tears. The CM also held Barun in his lap and became emotional. “I will help in whichever way I can. I will continue to support your family. You will be able to rebuild your home, but I cannot bring your son back,” Sarma said.The tragedy unfolded within minutes after floodwaters suddenly surged into the tea garden area. Dipak said that Ridip, accompanied by Barun and his aunt, was making his way towards the tea garden factory, located on higher ground, when the water rapidly rose to neck level. “Barun jumped into the water. Ridip went after him. He slipped and was swept away by the powerful current,” said Dipak.Bharati said that the floodwaters rose with terrifying speed. “It was like a tsunami. In one wave, it became chest deep water in minutes and we could not go out of our home,” she said. The family remained trapped inside their flooded house throughout the night of July 19. When they were rescued the following day, they learnt that Ridip was gone. And amid the visitors and silence, Barun continues to roam around the house-sometimes near Ridip’s portrait, sometimes elsewhere-as if looking for the boy who once called him ‘jaan’.
