Odisha teacher, stuck in ditch after landslide, rescued after 14 days

A cattle herder found school teacher Mohan Maharana alive in a ditch 14 days after an Odisha landslide. The rescue ended his family's search, but he remained critical after surviving on muddy rainwater.A schoolteacher rescued after spending 14 days trapped in a ditch near landslide-hit Dangasi village in Odisha's Kandhamal district. (Source: ITG)A schoolteacher who went missing after a massive landslide in Odisha's Kandhamal district was rescued on Saturday, 14 days after he fell into a ditch near a hill. The teacher is identified as Mohan Maharana, at a school in Indragarh panchayat, survived the ordeal by drinking muddy rainwater that had accumulated in the ditch.Maharana was found trapped in the ditch near landslide-hit Dangasi village by a cattle herder who had taken his herd to the area. The herder heard a faint voice coming from the ditch and, on approaching the spot, discovered the teacher. He immediately alerted villagers, who rushed to rescue Maharana.Following his rescue, villagers carried him on a makeshift stretcher for nearly 18 kilometres to a hospital, where he was admitted for treatment. His condition was reported to be critical due to prolonged starvation and consumption of muddy rainwater.HOW THE TEACHER GOT TRAPPEDThe incident dates back to the night of October 29, when incessant rainfall triggered a massive landslide that wiped out Dangasi village. As the hillside collapsed, residents fled towards neighbouring Duba village to save their lives. Maharana was reportedly heading towards Dangasi village when the landslide struck. In the darkness, he accidentally fell into a ditch near the hill. With no one around to hear him, his cries for help went unnoticed.Exposed to heavy rainfall, his voice weakened the following day, making it increasingly difficult for him to call for help. Surrounded by forest, he remained trapped and unnoticed for nearly two weeks.FAMILY'S SEARCH ENDS AFTER 14 DAYS After the storm subsided, Maharana's family members launched a search to find him but failed to trace his whereabouts. They subsequently approached police, following which a missing person case was registered and a search operation was initiated.However, the search efforts yielded no results until Saturday, when the cattle herder heard him from the ditch.The discovery brought an end to Maharana's 14-day ordeal, during which he survived in the ditch with no access to food or clean drinking water.- Ends