THIS Sunday was not the usual relaxed one for people of Nagpur, especially those residing in the areas that were affected by flooding after torrential rains lashed the city in the wee hours of Saturday. For, they took stock of the damage caused, removed the silt of shock and distress, and picked up the strands of life so that a new beginning could be made. May it be Corporation Colony, Daga Layout, Verma Layout, Ambazari Layout near Ambazari lake, or Sitabuldi and other affected areas along the banks of Naag river, the scene everywhere was the same on Sunday. While the citizens were busy cleaning up silt deposited in their homes by the flood water, the shop-keepers were busy assessing the extent of damage to the material in shops and calculating the losses. All the people in the affected areas were forced to spend their Sunday as a day of hectic activities, taking stock of the damage caused due to flood water, drying up mattresses and wet clothes and bedsheets, getting electricity panels checked, removing silt from their houses, collecting ornaments and cash and important documents that got wet due to flood water. Most of them were also busy arranging for safe and clean drinking water and food, taking care of panicked elders and children in the house. Many had sent their children and elders to relatives’ places on Saturday afternoon only, so that the young ones could take up cleaning drive on Sunday. Organisations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Lok Kalyan Samiti, Maitree Pariwar, Rotary Club of Nagpur Ishanya etc continued distributing food packets to several families and individuals.

 

Some hired towing services to send their vehicles for repairs as muck got deposited into the half-submerged cars leaving the engine, battery, and other parts damaged. Shops in particularly the basements of commercial complexes were scenes of busy activities. Diesel pumps were deployed to remove water accumulated in basements. Owners of shops selling clothes/garments, books, and other items suffered a heavy damage. They were busy taking out the stock, spreading it on pavement outside their shops so that those could be dried. They also calculated the loss, and wondered whether the aid announced by the Government would be enough to cover their losses. Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) staff was busy distributing chlorine tablets to citizens in the affected areas in a bid to prevent the spread of post-flood diseases, spraying pesticides in drainage lines, deploying excavators to remove debris that got deposited into the areas due to flood water from Ambazari lake and Nag river. Truckloads of silt was removed from various areas, reflecting the enormity of flood fury. NMC also deployed its staff and excavators in the bed of Nag river to remove silt. At places, one could see the twigs of trees, muck and all kinds of waste material that was dumped into the river trapped into the metal bars of some bridges and pipeline carriageways across the river. It indicated how high was the flood level. In several areas, flood water passed with a great velocity, damaging the compound walls of constructions along the banks of Nag river.