Madhya Pradesh: Tales of Gwalior-Chambal floods; survivors recount horror, say blessed to make it to safety

Thousands of people have abandoned their homes in low-lying areas and have taken shelter at safer places

Madhya Pradesh, Aug 04 (ANI): Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) conducts a rescue operation at a flood-affected area, in Shivpuri on Wednesday.

ANI

BHOPAL: The Gwalior-Chambal region of the state is in the grips of a severe flood. Water has entered homes and streets have turned into rivulets. People have suffered huge losses.

Water and power supply has got snapped in large parts of the area. People are being forced to do without drinking water even in the towns in the flood-affected areas. Thousands of people have abandoned their homes in low-lying areas and have taken shelter at safer places.

To get a firsthand idea of the situation at the ground, Free Press talked with some of the flood victims on the phone.

Shop of Neelam Singh Rajput in
Shivpuri — Shop of Neelam Singh Rajput in Shivpuri

‘Using rainwater for bathing, laundry and even for drinking’ : I own a sari shop on the Thandi Sadak in Shivpuri. I live with my joint family in a two-storied house in the Rambagh Colony on the Circuit House Road. It rained in torrents from 6 am on Monday and continued till 2 pm. It poured again from midnight to 1 am. Soon there was water all around. Water gushed into my shop and also the ground floor of my house. Electricity and water supply got snapped. Saris worth Rs 5-7 lakh at the shop have been ruined. Household gadgets have been destroyed. Things were floating around in our home. We are using rainwater for bathing, washing clothes and even for drinking. For children, I have fetched water from a hotel about one km away. We own four two-wheelers. Water has entered the engines of the bikes. Once the water recedes, I will call a mechanic to take a look at them. Actually, rain is not the problem. Lack of proper drainage is the problem. People have encroached on nullahs, narrowing them and reducing their water-carrying capacity. That is causing the flooding.

Neelam Singh Rajput, 38, businessman Shivpuri

‘Floods have ruined me’ : For the past three days, there has been no water supply in the city. We are also without power supply. Children in my family don’t have water to drink. I am a wholesaler of foodgrains, edible oil etc. My shop and godown are on the ground floor and I live with my family on the upper floors. Water didn’t enter the home but my shop was under 10 feet of water. These floods have ruined me. I have suffered a loss of at least Rs 30 lakh. Hundreds of bags of sugar, maida and rice stored in my shop and godown were destroyed due to water. Around 300 cartons of edible oil were swept away. I pay Rs 40 lakh every month to the government as GST. Shouldn’t the government help me? A surveyor visited my shop today to assess the losses. But I don’t know whether I will get any help.

Bhagwanlal Singhal, 68, trader Shivpuri

‘We had to leave our village to save our lives’: Our entire village has got submerged. The population of our village is around 800. We have taken shelter in the buildings of two higher secondary schools in Bilaspur village, which is about 2 km away. On Monday morning, when I woke up, I found water all around. Soon, water entered our houses. The household goods were destroyed - clothes, TV set, almirahs everything. Water has ruined around 50 bags of wheat, mustard and gram stored in my house. The villagers helped each other. We had to leave our village to save our lives. We waded through waist-deep water. Those who knew swimming, swam. We somehow came to Bilaspur. Here we are safe. No one from the government arranged for our transport. We had to do without food for a day. The local villagers have helped us. We have bought potatoes and some food grains from the market. We are cooking food for ourselves here. Our houses have got submerged in water. Once the situation improves, we will go back to our village. Only then would we be able to assess the losses. Fortunately, there were no casualties in our village.

Ankit, 19 Farmer, Andora village, district Datia

Bhopal

Madhya Pradesh: Tales of Gwalior-Chambal floods; survivors recount horror, say blessed to make it to safety

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Madhya Pradesh: Tales of Gwalior-Chambal floods; survivors recount horror, say blessed to make it to safety

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