A mother's hope dashed under waterfall

When Namita Dey, 53, lost her husband five years ago, her only son had become her sole resort to overcome grief and a hope in her struggle. With her meagre income as a family welfare assistant of the health directorate's Hathazari upazila office, she afforded his education in engineering.

But all of a sudden, her hope was shattered when her beloved son died after falling from a waterfall in Mirsarai upazila of Chittagong on August 15.

Animesh Dey, 27, son of Niranjan Dey of Poddarpara village in Fatickchhari upazila, who passed his BSc-in-engineering in petroleum and mining from the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology two years ago, was trying to get a scholarship for his master's study from a college in the US, said his family and friends.

“Mother, once I … complete my higher studies your miseries will be over,” Animesh's only elder sister Anamika Dey quoted him as saying, adding that by saying this he tried to console their mother very often.

“Since my father's demise in May 2011, my mother had been taking extra care of my brother. He (Animesh) used to roam around different places with friends. Although my mother did not like that, she did not forbid him. She maintained regular communication to know about the update of his stay,” she said.

On that fateful day, after leaving his Oxygen area residence, Animesh told her mother over the phone around 11:30am that he was crossing Sitakunda and asked her not to worry.

But Namita became anxious when she could not reach him around 3:00pm.

One of his friends Tanveer Alam said, “After crossing two small waterfalls we lost the way to our destination, Napitta Chhara waterfall, and started getting back through a steep hill. Then, he (Animesh) slipped and fell while he was hit in the head against the hill.”

Anamika said now her grief-stricken mother, who cannot talk properly, cannot find ways to mend her broken heart.