BENGALURU: November 24 is a date all citizens of Krishna Layout, near Hulimavu Lake, will remember. A week has passed since the lake breached, but life is far from normal for these residents. Yashaswini, a 21-year-old and her family who live close by, are still haunted by the events of that tragic day.
Yashaswini was getting ready for work, like any other day, when she heard that there was a small leak in the bund. When she went to see what was happening, she thought that the knee-level water was not a big deal, assuming it would flow into the drains. She left for work, only to hear some time later that the water level had risen to chest-level, and that her entire neighbourhood was flooded.
Scared, Yashaswini and her sister first tried to salvage their documents. Her relatives gathered meanwhile to help, and they teamed up to get rid of the water, which took a week. “We have only finished the basic cleaning, there’s still a long way to go. No food or water reached us till 6pm the following day. The funny part was that there was so much water everywhere, but not a drop to drink,” she said. All clothes, electronics, groceries and documents were submerged, but another problem was the overwhelming stench in the locality post the breach.
Yashaswini hasn’t gone to work for a week, as there was just too much to do around the house. “All our electronics - washing machine, mixer, iron box, etc - could not be saved. We don’t know how we will afford new ones, as the compensation of Rs 50,000 was too little.”Out of her documents, all she could salvage was her Aadhaar card, which she hopes she can still use. Yashaswini and her family, as well as the numerous others who suffered, hope they will get more aid more relief to get their lives back on track.