There was a queue on the banks of the river Palar in Tamil Nadu's Kanchipuram district through the day on Sunday. Men and women carrying bags of groceries, sacks of rice and toddlers in their arms waited while a small motor dinghy approached the bank. As passengers quickly disembarked, some 15 people from the queue got on the boat to make a crossing of about 700 metres. When the boat reached the opposite bank at Edayathur village the same hurried exchange took place.
The residents of Edayathur had a lot of work to get done before dark. After being completely cut off from the rest of the district for the past 20 days, they had to start making their way out to work, to restock food supplies, to get medicines and to get on with life.
Edayathur and its neighbouring village Irumbulicheri are located on a tiny island on the middle of the Palar river. In mid-November, after a couple of rounds of heavy rain, both roads connecting the island to the rest of Thirukalukundram taluka were washed away by the force of the river. Around 260 families in Edayathur and 200 in Irumbulicheri were marooned.
This wasn't like the swelling of the Adyar and Cooum rivers in Chennai from the release of water from dams it was jut from but incessant torrential rain, said Edayathur residents. Kanchipuram district got 1,241 millimetres of rain in October and November, which is 144% above the average for the season. The heaviest rains occurred on November 12, just after Diwali.
"Normally the river bed is dry," said Suresh Sampath who belongs to Edayathur and works as a finance assistant for an automobile company near Chengulpet. "In the two or three rainy months there might be up to 10 feet of water. This time we got about 20 feet."
With the roads missing and all access cut off, the village quickly began running low on food.
"We buy everything from medicines to sugar from Thirukalukundram," said C Sahadevan.
"We have been rationing everything and eating. There was no milk for the children. We don't keep cows here," said V Kalliappan. What got them by was the little extra they had stocked up for Diwali.
The water rose and entered the village lanes but not the houses. Kalliappan and his neighbours say they just got lucky. On December 6, Edayathur residents managed to arrange for a boat on rent from fisheries near Kalpakkam. This single boat is now the only means of transport in and out of the village.
Unlike Chennai, there have been no airdrops of supplies in Edayathur. Although the village remained connected by mobile networks, their calls to people outside didn't get much attention. The villagers said the local MLA hasn't tried to reach them and the district collector only arrived on the same weekend as the boat.
In Chennai, social media updates saved the lives of many people stranded the floods. In Eduyathur, everyone has a cell phone and many are on Facebook. But when calls go unanswered, little else helps.
"We all have Facebook and What's App. We can put it on Facebook but who will see it?" said Sampath.
District-wide deluge
Kanchipuram district has been dealing with these rains and floods for more than a month. Roads through the district, including state highways, have been interrupted every few kilometres by gushing water that is waist deep in some places. A main market road in Chengulpet town is still getting flooded with knee-high water.
In Pakkam near Edayathur, paddy farmer A Kumar estimates that he has lost Rs 1 lakh in the last month. "After sowing once the rain came, flooded the fields and ruined the crop. The second time it ruined the transplanted crop," he said. "All 20 farmers in this area have the same losses and I think it's the same in the whole district."
Where's the relief?
Forty-six flood-affected Irular tribe families have been living in a panchayat primary school at in Tiriporur taluka for the past three weeks. Their settlement on the outskirts of Mettuthandalam village flooded, the mud on which their bamboo thatch houses stood started sliding and the houses themselves tilted over and threatened to collapse. The only unaffected concrete structure is the temple dedicated to the god Kaniamman.
A hut of one of 46 scheduled tribe families who have relocated to the Mettuthandalam shelter. Photo: Nayantara Narayanan
"The panchayat people brought us here in a van and they have been providing food and water," said S Anjali who has moved to the shelter with her husband and two children. "We have very few things in our homes. Whatever is there we have kept in dry places."
Anjali's husband Sekar earns by erecting pandals for functions in the town and packing and transporting rice from farmers. Anjali estimates that her family's income is about Rs 2,000 a month. The couple spent Rs 12,000 to compete construction of their one-room home on two months ago, after taking loans from money lenders. Now the bottom one foot of their walls is damp and damaged.
In Kanchipuram town, the Chennai floods have brought some good news for Amritavalli. Relief material has been trickling into the town in the past week.
Amritavalli is one of 2,600 flood-affected people living 13 shelters across the town. She is in a community centre, which is basically a biggish hall, is bursting with 150 displaced from the Thayarkulam slum. After a heavy rain the previous night, rain water stagnated at the entrance of the hall. Inhabitants complained of the cold, the mosquitos and the lack of sleep.
"The municipality gives us food and water and that is fine. They are also distributing medicines for fever, cough and skin sores," said Amritavalli. "But we aren't able to get enough bedsheets or clothes."
She hoped that some relief material would come her way that day. A van from Bangalore had just arrived with aid.
"I had studied in Kanchipuram so I wanted to come here and help," said Venkatraman Dandapani, an employee of Cisco who brought the material along with his brother and friends. "I only found out that Kanchipuram was also affected only after the Chennai floods."
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The residents of Edayathur had a lot of work to get done before dark. After being completely cut off from the rest of the district for the past 20 days, they had to start making their way out to work, to restock food supplies, to get medicines and to get on with life.
Edayathur and its neighbouring village Irumbulicheri are located on a tiny island on the middle of the Palar river. In mid-November, after a couple of rounds of heavy rain, both roads connecting the island to the rest of Thirukalukundram taluka were washed away by the force of the river. Around 260 families in Edayathur and 200 in Irumbulicheri were marooned.
Burial ground under water. Photo: Nayantara Narayanan
This wasn't like the swelling of the Adyar and Cooum rivers in Chennai from the release of water from dams it was jut from but incessant torrential rain, said Edayathur residents. Kanchipuram district got 1,241 millimetres of rain in October and November, which is 144% above the average for the season. The heaviest rains occurred on November 12, just after Diwali.
"Normally the river bed is dry," said Suresh Sampath who belongs to Edayathur and works as a finance assistant for an automobile company near Chengulpet. "In the two or three rainy months there might be up to 10 feet of water. This time we got about 20 feet."
With the roads missing and all access cut off, the village quickly began running low on food.
"We buy everything from medicines to sugar from Thirukalukundram," said C Sahadevan.
"We have been rationing everything and eating. There was no milk for the children. We don't keep cows here," said V Kalliappan. What got them by was the little extra they had stocked up for Diwali.
The water rose and entered the village lanes but not the houses. Kalliappan and his neighbours say they just got lucky. On December 6, Edayathur residents managed to arrange for a boat on rent from fisheries near Kalpakkam. This single boat is now the only means of transport in and out of the village.
Edayathur residents bringing supplies in by boat near pylons of a bridge that's taking years to build. Photo: Nayantara Narayanan
Unlike Chennai, there have been no airdrops of supplies in Edayathur. Although the village remained connected by mobile networks, their calls to people outside didn't get much attention. The villagers said the local MLA hasn't tried to reach them and the district collector only arrived on the same weekend as the boat.
In Chennai, social media updates saved the lives of many people stranded the floods. In Eduyathur, everyone has a cell phone and many are on Facebook. But when calls go unanswered, little else helps.
"We all have Facebook and What's App. We can put it on Facebook but who will see it?" said Sampath.
District-wide deluge
Kanchipuram district has been dealing with these rains and floods for more than a month. Roads through the district, including state highways, have been interrupted every few kilometres by gushing water that is waist deep in some places. A main market road in Chengulpet town is still getting flooded with knee-high water.
Flooded highway at Kalavakkam. Photo: Nayantara Narayanan
In Pakkam near Edayathur, paddy farmer A Kumar estimates that he has lost Rs 1 lakh in the last month. "After sowing once the rain came, flooded the fields and ruined the crop. The second time it ruined the transplanted crop," he said. "All 20 farmers in this area have the same losses and I think it's the same in the whole district."
Where's the relief?
Forty-six flood-affected Irular tribe families have been living in a panchayat primary school at in Tiriporur taluka for the past three weeks. Their settlement on the outskirts of Mettuthandalam village flooded, the mud on which their bamboo thatch houses stood started sliding and the houses themselves tilted over and threatened to collapse. The only unaffected concrete structure is the temple dedicated to the god Kaniamman.
A hut of one of 46 scheduled tribe families who have relocated to the Mettuthandalam shelter. Photo: Nayantara Narayanan
"The panchayat people brought us here in a van and they have been providing food and water," said S Anjali who has moved to the shelter with her husband and two children. "We have very few things in our homes. Whatever is there we have kept in dry places."
Anjali's husband Sekar earns by erecting pandals for functions in the town and packing and transporting rice from farmers. Anjali estimates that her family's income is about Rs 2,000 a month. The couple spent Rs 12,000 to compete construction of their one-room home on two months ago, after taking loans from money lenders. Now the bottom one foot of their walls is damp and damaged.
In Kanchipuram town, the Chennai floods have brought some good news for Amritavalli. Relief material has been trickling into the town in the past week.
Amritavalli is one of 2,600 flood-affected people living 13 shelters across the town. She is in a community centre, which is basically a biggish hall, is bursting with 150 displaced from the Thayarkulam slum. After a heavy rain the previous night, rain water stagnated at the entrance of the hall. Inhabitants complained of the cold, the mosquitos and the lack of sleep.
Packed shelter in Kanchipuram town. Photo: Nayantara Narayanan
"The municipality gives us food and water and that is fine. They are also distributing medicines for fever, cough and skin sores," said Amritavalli. "But we aren't able to get enough bedsheets or clothes."
She hoped that some relief material would come her way that day. A van from Bangalore had just arrived with aid.
"I had studied in Kanchipuram so I wanted to come here and help," said Venkatraman Dandapani, an employee of Cisco who brought the material along with his brother and friends. "I only found out that Kanchipuram was also affected only after the Chennai floods."