KOCHI: When heavy rain lashed on Independence Day, Jaimohan K did not expect things to escalate so quickly. Jaimohan and his 83-year-old mother live near the Siva temple at Thottakkattukara in Aluva, which is located just 500 m away from the Periyar. Once the floodwater reached the front yard, Jaimohan moved to a nearby house located on higher ground.
The next day, that house too was flooded as the first floor was filled with water. Even the roads here were three feet lower than the houses, water soon gushed inside. On Friday, a rescue boat came their way. Some people were rescued from nearby flats and when the boat was returning, it almost capsized due to a whirlpool. Rescue workers did not return that day.
The Navy had been airdropping food here all these days. On Saturday, the Navy came and rescued him and his ageing mother. “Thankfully, we had my mother’s medicine and other necessary items with us. The four days were scary and we panicked.
The sad thing is nobody manning the helplines responded. Some did not even pick up, while others picked up, spoke to us but never came,” said Jaimohan. The airdropped food packets proved excess for Jaimohan. So, he handed over the remaining packets to authorities at Aluva Metro station so that it could be of use to others. Jaimohan is Sales Manager at The New Indian Express.