Vaishali Balajiwale travels on a rescue boat to the flooded Chandori village and comes back moved by the humanity she saw.
Vaishali Balajiwale travels on a rescue boat to the flooded Chandori village and comes back moved by the humanity she encounters.
By the banks of river Godavari, downstream, is Chandori, a village of 15,000 people. The village has been practically submerged but for the high altitude central area where the village people have converged. The entrance to the village on the Aurangabad highway is blocked by water.
The village is practically inaccessible. Only rescue boats deployed by the administration are ferrying people out of the village. This reporter managed to get on one of the boats, to meet people who are stranded inside.
The flood water has encircled the village. Low-lying areas like Koliwada have about 5-8 feet of water. People from these areas have either been ferried out of the village or moved to temples and a school on higher altitudes. The primary health centre is submerged completely.
Lahnu, a physically challenged man, is standing outside his house, where the water is about 3 feet deep. “My whole family is with me here. We have moved our belongings but we will not leave the house till the water gets in,” he said. Lata Usma Sheikh is another adamant villager. The flood water is just a few yards away from her house. “I do not see any danger as I don’t think the water will rise any further and above all we will not leave behind our cattle and go to a safer place,” she said.
18 girls in the hostel run by the social welfare department and the Mahatma Gandhi Vidyamandir are frightened. “Our sir has told us to stay here and not to fear. Our parents are away. Many of us come from Mumbai but we have not spoken to them as the phone is not working. We are taking care of each other, trying to study. But yes, we are frightened,” one of them said. “Please ask the administration to help us. Just two of us are responsible for these girls and 24 boys. We are tense now,” the supervisor says.
In stark contrast, life goes on as normal in the central part of the village, which is on a higher altitude. As I pass through the lanes, I hear radio playing Hindi songs from one of the houses. Men have gathered on the verandas and are discussing the situation. Youngsters are roaming around, many of them following the officials making rounds of the village to ensure safety and facilities.
Clearly people of the village have come together at their hour of crisis. Those who are safe are cooking for those who have been moved to safer places. Tiffins are being collected from all the safe houses and distributed among the stranded people.
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