Cancer patients 'never expected this from Mumbai'

Thousands of patients visit Tata Memorial Hospital for cancer treatment and many of them told DNA that they had to go through hardships to visit the hospital on Tuesday, considering the streets leading to the facility were all flooded.

Durjoy Lal Saha, a patient from Tripura, tells DNA why he prefers his state rather than the megapolis of Mumbai. He is receving treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital.

"When I left my home in Tripura a month ago I thought Mumbai was a delightful city but when I had to walk in knee-deep water in the past two days for my cancer treatment I realised that my home state is much better than Mumbai. We are happy, clean and there is no flooding there but here it is like a sea after heavy rainfall.

I have rented an apartment in Parel near Tata Memorial Hospital, and for the past two days, it has been raining heavily and due to which the whole area near my house got flooded. But I am undergoing treatment for cancer and it was vital for me to visit the hospital on Tuesday. I went walking in knee-deep flooded roads by walking for around 15-20 minutes, and it was very scary considering I feared of falling into a manhole."

Another resident of Agartala in Tripura, Bikach Bhaumik (right), who came to the city for a relative's caner treatment, feels the same.

"Though people have a perception that Tripura is underdeveloped we do not have such a situation there. I did not expect this from a city like Mumbai. I came here with an entirely different image of the city but now I will go back with a very bad image of it."