Train ride gives glimpse into chaos

Chengannur/ Aluva, Aug. 20: Rows of submerged houses, paddy fields under sheets of water and the Pamba river in spate bear testimony to the devastating floods in Kerala.

A train journey from Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram, which usually presents a picture of greenery all along, gave a peep into the tragedy that befell the residents, especially in worsthit Chengannur in Alappuzha district, and other areas.

Train services to the state capital — which remained suspended in the section as also in several others from August 15 in the wake of the unprecedented floods that ravaged the state, claiming 216 lives in the last 11 days — resumed on Sunday.

A PTI correspondent who travelled by the first train saw the destruction caused by the floods, the worst in a century, through the journey as houses and fields were underwater on both sides of the track.

The train was empty as it chugged out of the Ernakulam station, but became crowded when it reached Chengannur, about 70 km away, with displaced people boarding it to move to the homes of their friends and relatives.

In nearby Pandanad and Cheriyanad, where lush green paddy fields and swaying coconut palms normally soothe the eye, the whole area was a sea of water.

Officials said nearly 90 per cent of the people stranded in the Pandanad area have been shifted to shelters. Around 30,000 people were rescued from the area with the help of 400 Army personnel and NDRF and local volunteers, using around 80 boats, including 65 of fishermen.

As the train crossed a bridge across the Pamba river, the roar of the gushing waters gave an indication of the intensity of the floods. The river has been flooded since the shutters of two major dams — Pamba and Kakki — in Pathanamthitta district were opened days ago after water level reached the maximum due to heavy rains.

Scenes were similar during a ride in the Kochi Metro to the worst affected Aluva in Ernakulam district on Saturday. Multi- storey buildings, including the office of Kochi

Metro yard, in the busy town up to a radius of five to six kilometres of the Periyar river were fully under water then. The Metro services, which were suspended for a day last week, have helped people of Aluva to move to safer places and offered free travel.

There has been a let up in the rains in the last two days and the flood waters have started receding in some parts.