Komal Paithine, 20, said she and her two brothers lost all their books. (Express)At one of the relief camps set up by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) in Phugewadi, displaced families on Monday alleged that civic officials did not alert them in advance, because of which, they lost all their belongings.
About 150 people from several families were brought to the Phugewadi relief camp as water from Pavana river flooded their huts at Bharatnagar on Sunday morning. “In 2005, they had told us the previous night to move out. This time, nobody alerted us. They came around 7 am, when the water had already flooded our homes…We had to leave our belongings behind and run for safety,” said 50-year-old Sharada Sathey.
Sathey said they don’t know whether they will be able to retrieve their son’s wedding trousseau. “My son is getting married next month. Only last week, we had purchased clothes, a watch and other wedding articles…We don’t know whether they are safe or if they’ve been washed away,” she said.
Komal Paithine, 20, a B.Com student, said she and her two school-going brothers lost all their books. “Even my documents, like marksheets, must have been washed away,” she said, adding, “Had they told us on Saturday night, I would have collected my papers and books, and moved out.” She said her father was a contract labourer and did not earn enough to buy the new books for her and her brothers.
Tarabai Shinde, 70, said she lost everything in the flood while her only son is in the hospital. “I can’t see properly…All our belongings have been lost. Kahich shilak nahi (We have nothing left).”
Almost all the residents look shell-shocked by the loss of their home and hearth. Compounding their misery was the fact that the PCMC made them sleep on carpets, without providing them blankets. “It’s very cold out here but they have not provided us with even a simple chaddar (bedsheet) for the night,” said Maya Shivsharan, a housewife.
Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar, however, said, “We had repeatedly alerted people across the city. But, they don’t listen…” he said. He added that blankets are taken care of by NGOs and local volunteers.
