Given Up“No expectations from authorities”

 

 

Countless citizens grappling with losses are pointing at the inaction of the administration in allocating relief measures for the affected people. Dr Tapati Dey, a resident of Anant Nagar, near Jafar Nagar, and Adv Prashant Sathianathan, a resident of Friends Colony, Katol Road, among the affected, shed light on the absence of support from civic authorities. Dr Dey, a retired senior executive from BSNL, recounts the ordeal caused by the floods. The water started entering her home around 1 am, gradually increasing to 2.5 feet of muddy water till 5.30 am, and to date, she has not seen anyone from Nagpur Municipal Corporation who has been assigned for the spot verification. “The water caused a mess inside my house, claiming furniture items, stocked food grains, and electronic appliances among other household items. Not a nook of the house was spared.

 

 

 

The assessment of loss, if done, might be over a few lakhs” Dr Dey shared. It saddens her, she added, that a huge collection of books got soaked in the flood water, still stinking of the filth that came in from the overflowing drains. “We were able to retrieve important documents from drawers and few books. Eventually, all we could do was pray and wait for the water to recede,” said Dr Dey. Blankets and quilts, kept in the bed storage for winters, also got destroyed. She even had to bear the cost of repairing her car. With water came garbage and it took days for the Dey family to clean up the aftermath. “On top of this dire situation, not a single garbage collection vehicle visited our area for a week,” she added, frustration evident in her voice. She complains of the inadequate drainage system and construction of cement roads in her neighbourhood as key factors of this incident. When queried about any aid from the administration, Dr Dey expressed disappointment.

 

“I’ve given up on receiving help from the authorities. There has been any survey or talk of compensation thus far”, she lamented during a conversation with ‘The Hitavada’. “Politicians show up and engage with citizens during elections, only to abandon the city once the votes are cast,” she said with frustration. She emphasised that rainwater often collects around her residence due to heavy downpours, but this time, it escalated into a shocking and traumatic ordeal. Adv Prashant Sathianathan, Special Public Prosecutor, CBI, Bombay High Court, shared a similar tale of disbelief when he along with his wife and son discovered their home filled with water in the middle of the night. The Bor nullah, situated close to their locality, suffered a critical blockage. A mini truck, parked by the roadside, was swept away into the nullah and became stuck in an outlet leading towards Gorewada.

 

As a result, the water level surged, spilling onto the road and the surrounding localities. “Sofas were floating; official papers, medical reports, electric switchboards, home appliances, water pump machines were all caught in the devastation,” he mentioned. Regarding the response of civic authorities, he expressed his dismay. “No one conducted a survey initially, but after I made a few phone calls, a group of people came for an inspection. Unfortunately, I received no further communication,” he revealed. He added that the monetary compensation allocated by the Government is not nearly enough against the total loss. He advocates for redesigning the old sewage pipeline system across the city and urged proactive measures to avert such crises in the future. “The climate is becoming more unpredictable. We need to be prepared for emergencies,” he concluded, with a sense of hope for enhanced preparedness.