KOCHI: After a torrid Thursday, it was a relatively milder Friday for the people of Kerala pounded by torrential rain for the past three days. The mood that was melancholy, bordering on despair since the Independence Day turned to one of cautious optimism. But, not for all as the scores of helplines set up by the state government were inundated with calls for help. Naturally, not all could be attended to, leaving a taste of sourness for many stranded groups of people right across the state.
Between the joy of a pregnant woman airlifted by a Navy chopper at Chengamanad who soon gave birth to a healthy baby at the Navy hospital in Kochi and the heartbreak of a man who could only watch helplessly his son slipping from his grasp and washed away by the gushing waters one got to witness the microcosm of the happenings over the past 24 hours.
However, solace still remained a distant dream as water level in the rivers kept rising and misery continued to seep into more lives. As many as 121 people died in the state due to rain-related incidents over the past three days.
The Central and state teams continued to act on a war-footing to rescue stranded people and provide relief to the victims. The helplines are flooded with a deluge of SOS messages and calls. Yet, there were complaints that the rescue operations were progressing at snail’s pace, thereby risking the lives of trapped people.
Major rivers in the state are in full spate and flood water is entering areas up to 7 km away from the banks. The flood situation in Chalakkudy worsened on Friday morning as the water level in the river rose dangerously and entered the town. Thousands held up in houses, flats and churches for the last 36 hours without food and water were frantically trying to contact the rescue workers. The social media was flooded with stories of agony and frustration as thousands of flood victims tried all options to escape from the deluge.
Thousands remained trapped in houses at Ranni, Kozhenchery, Chengannur, Tiruvalla, Aluva, Kadungalloor and Chalakkudy. Rail traffic from Kochi to Thrissur was stopped after water in Periyar river rose to dangerous levels. Long-distance trains were rerouted from Thiruvananthapuram via Nagercoil-Madurai route and the Railways operated special trains from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram via Alappuzha to help stranded commuters. However, rail traffic via Kottayam continued to be disrupted.
Train service on the Shoranur-Kozhikode route was also suspended due to landslides and waterlogging on tracks. Traffic on the arterial roads was affected for the second day as flood waters entered the National Highway at Aluva, Angamaly, Chalakkudy, Muringoor, Paliyekkara and many other places.