We thought we had escaped the rain and flood fury when we moved up from Kochi, into the hills at Kuttikkanam in Idukki district. Yes, we had left the floodwaters behind but the torrential rains kept us company. The winds howled through the night as mist and rain lashed the windows. Kuttikkanam is the highest point of KK Road, linking Kottayam with Kumily. Back in Kochi the area around our apartment had got inundated and water rushed into the ground floor flats making them unbearable.
As corporation ceased pumping water from the muddy Periyar at Aluva, the underground tanks were filled with rain and slush water. Drinking, cooking and even bathing was becoming difficult. The supermarkets were running out of stock but the residents had stocked up to tide over the immediate crisis. But no amount of rain could drench or douse the spirit of the people. With whatever they had to cook and spare, food was being mobilized, clothes and blankets were being organised, even as people volunteered to shuttle between camps distributing relief materials. Soon WhatsApp was replete with messages asking where to deliver and distribute the food that had been cooked for hundreds of people.
The vehicles of these good-natured volunteers ran into the floodwaters along the National Highway far ahead of Aluva, Angamaly, Chalakkudy, a few of the affected regions. Several of them had to return. Mission un-accomplished! Food wasted! Yet the good Samaritans never gave up. There is always a meaning even in these times of calamity and madness. Unknown to many, the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Kadavanthra was becoming a hub for relief activities. They were organising the collection and transport of relief material to the needy at the camps.
The good work continues. Up here in the hills, the people were confronting a different kind of disaster, landslides along with torrential rains and fast-flowing rivers. We had visited Vandiperiyar when all the shutters of the Mullaperiyar dam were opened. The bridge linking the small hill-town to Kumily was blocked and manned by Fire and Rescue Services and police personnel. The usually sluggish and serpentine Periyar river was flowing beneath the bridge, furiously racing to the plains. As old yet live electric posts along the river bank swayed and faltered under the fury of the tearing waters, the security personnel were busy clearing the bridge of gawking spectators and selfie-clicking visitors.
The selfies were busy making the calamity into a live spectacle for the masses. In a day or two, these cascading waters would create madness and mayhem and could virtually inundate the township of Aluva. Kumily was cut off from the rest of Kerala. Earlier, a landslide at Pullupara had cut off the high ranges from the bristling midland towns.
Later, a wide crack in the road soon cut off traffic to Peermade. Landslips are a common and well-accepted feature in the ghats. But their sheer extent and ferociousness can be terrifying. Just one tree slipping on to the road or a whole hillock with houses, wells, cattle and fields crashing down are classified as landslips. We had come here to set up a house for our son, who is working in one of the resorts at Panchalimedu. A few days back he and his colleagues were blocked by a landslip from reaching their workstation. Another landslip blocked the alternate path. The next day one of the paths was cleared but he could not come back because overnight a new landslip blocked the path once again. Today he has gone prepared, carrying sufficient clothes for another stay-over.
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These are small landslips, a couple of trees. But an everyday feature in the hills. Only this time, the rain has made it worse. It’s the wonderful age of the Internet. Just got pictures on WhatsApp of the lawn of my small cottage beside Vembanad lake getting inundated. The vastness of the backwaters, from Kayamkulam to Kochi, was supposed to keep it safe. Take care, the dark fury of the rains have not abated as yet. (The author is a senior journalist with around 30 years of experience and consulting editor to various publications). The views expressed in the article are those of the author.