Express News Service
KOCHI: Three and a half days. Nearly 350 refugees. Zero food and water. This was the situation at Snehasadanam Old Age home in Kuthiathode from the time the sun set on August 15. While the water that had submerged its lower floor has since receded, the situation continues to be grim as everything perished in the devastating deluge. Sr Ambika, the head of the old age home which is managed by the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, said those three days were horrible. “We were hosting over 300 people, including babies and the elderly, besides those in our care. When water started entering the premises and slowly crept up, we transferred all our bedridden patients to the top floor. It was chaotic,” she said.
However, when the water submerged the ground floor and all the people crowded to the floor above, the situation turned disastrous. “The elderly housed with us became agitated and hostile upon seeing all the refugees. They even blocked the bathrooms preventing those who took refuge with us from using the facilities. We had to set up an alternate system,” Sr Ambika said.
Once darkness fell and the electricity got disconnected, screams and cries of the people, who were unsure of what was happening, permeated the deathly quiet that enveloped the establishment. “The water came in fast. We couldn’t transfer food from our stores. So we were left with a few biscuits, rusks and chocolates. We distributed those among everybody to maintain their sugar levels and satiate their hunger pangs. We didn’t even have potable water. So, we kept buckets on the rooftop to collect the rainwater,” she said. With the small amount of rice the neighbours brought, Sr Ambika and other nuns cooked gruel, which, they recalled, was equivalent to water with a flavour.
With no one to turn to for help, people, including those took refuge in the home, spent the days praying to the Almighty seeking deliverance, Sr Ambika said. Things got worse when some women in the camp fell ill with urinary tract infections. “Many struggled with severe infection and had to be hospitalised as soon as the water receded,” she said.
Help us when we need it, say residents
Kochi:People of Kuthiathode are angry. Not at the rain gods, but at the people’s representatives of the area. For the latter have proven yet again their words and promises are like the lines drawn on shifting sand. Once the representatives get what they wanted, they shake the dust off their shoes and walk away, as they did when the deluge washed away the lives and dreams of the people of Kuthiathode. Davis, a resident who had been on the forefront of the rescue operations at Kuthiathode, said they had been sending SOS messages to the panchayat authorities and other government officers continuously. “All our messages fell on deaf ears.
The tahsildar couldn’t visit as he was stuck. But what about the rest of the officers? The help shouldn’t have come after the water receded,” he said. “Why wouldn’t we be angry? Can you imagine being able to do nothing while people whom you have known all your lives lie trapped under a pile of rubble; drinking rainwater and transporting people from one place to another, while the only words you get to hear from the so-called leaders are that help is coming? We don’t want such help,” he said.
Life is limping back in this forlorn village
KOCHI: It looks like a forlorn town from a Hollywood movie. Most of the houses are uninhabited, with people yet to return from relief camps’ or relatives’ house. Every single brick and every single plant is covered in mud. Cleaning work was going on in some houses. There was a pall of gloom all over the place. Clothes were hung out for drying. Volunteers from as far as Kasargod were helping in the cleaning works. “The houses of the people who died here are being cleaned now.
The families are all in the relief camp in Elanthikkara,” said Davis, a resident. “Do you want food?” was the question that greeted ‘Express’ team outside the St Thomas Church at North Kuthiathode. People were less in number here and looked sleep-starved. Food was served at the entrance. The atmosphere on the church premises was no different as people are still reeling from the effects of the disaster.
