THOOTHUKUDI: As water seeped into TMB colony on Sunday midnight, 32-year-old Madan and his family, comprising his wife Chandra (28) and their son Sudharshan, were wading through the water along with his sister Sooriya and parents, Senthoor Pandi and Poomari. Holding their five-year-old disabled child, Kaleeswaran, and Sooriya’s baby Sudharshan, who suffers from a heart ailment, they were heading towards their relatives house at Bryant Nagar.
Interacting with TNIE, Chandra said that his family had initially shifted to an unused room of a shop near Millerpuram, when water was at the hip level. “We had to spend a whole night and day without food and drinking water, under the leaky building. Later, we managed to get some food from St Mary’s School hostel via volunteers,” he said.
“We tried calling rescue helpline numbers in vain. On Monday, we repeatedly attempted to contact the disabled department to rescue Kaleeswaran, who gets monthly assistance from government. But none responded,” said Poomari. She further said though they managed to get milk for the kids, we did not have the facility to boil it.
Madan, who works at a shipping agency, had attempted all methods to shift his family to a safe spot, but failed. “A tractor driver had demanded Rs 2,500 to board my family to a relief centre. As I did not have the money, we were left with no other option, but to stay. Later, as the rainwater receded, we managed to shift to our relative’s house, who welcomed us despite the fact that one member of the family had put ‘Malai’ for Sabarimala pilgrimage,” he said.
On relief activities undertaken by the differently-abled department, a senior official said that they could not reach out to all those in need due to practical difficulties and inclement weather conditions. However, the department has been instructed to contact disabled children and attend to their needs, he added.
Widespread rainfall ends 4-day dry spell in delta dists
Thanjavur: Widespread rain swept across Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, breaking a dry spell of four days. The downpour brought relief to farmers. Tiruthuraipoondi in Tiruvarur recorded the highest rainfall (35 mm) during the 24-hour period.