‘Everything gone down the rain’

Water, water everywhere... these infamous words are swirling in the minds of Pradeep Samuel and his family, whose house at Tatti Annaram was flooded in the rains that struck the city last week. Five days on, there is no respite.

Pradeep, his wife and two children were stuck on the terrace on Tuesday night after water rose to the compound wall height. With no response from rescue teams, the four finally made their way out in the wee hours of Wednesday after their son David carried them one by one, wading through neck-deep water in the dark. Their pet dog Oscar too was carried out of troubled waters.

The family moved into the vacant flat of a friend three kilometres away in Bandlaguda and is hoping the water level recedes at the earliest. It still hasn’t. In fact, the rains on Saturday have worsened their woes — the water level has risen.

“This has caused us huge damage — physical, emotional, financial. All our electronic goods are now junk. After being soaked for five days now I don’t think the laptop, computer, printer, television, refrigerator and other appliances would be in usable condition. Then there are cots, mattresses, sofas and clothes. Everything has gone down the rain, we will have to start from scratch again,” a forlorn Pradeep said.

“Also, all our certificates are in the house. There must be a way out to procure fresh ones though, but this will require so much leg work in running around offices and will cost us quite a bit. For now, family and friends have been providing us comfort. I hope the government helps in restructuring our lives,” he adds.

Pradeep spends most of his day staring at his inundated house from a distance, visually marking the water level and with each passing hour hopes for minor improvements in this major tragedy that has hit his home.