Phoenix Rising

The hurdles are many, but Kerala is clawing its way back to normalcy

- Reema Abraham

AUGUST 18

 You freeze as successive blasts rock the Aluva metro terminus, 11km from the Kochi airport. You breathe when you realise it is just the tailgates of huge dump trucks snapping shut. The numbness stays as you see monstrous trucks—Tata LPK, Leyland Taurus and Bharat Benz—race past at breakneck speed with people packed inside. The precious cargo rescued from the ravaging waters of Periyar is offloaded in a matter of seconds. The trucks then swerve, reverse, and head back into the floodwaters to go rescue the marooned, and shift the thousands from flooded relief camps to higher ground.

AUGUST 26

 It is all unbelievably quiet. The road is clear of raging waters. No cacophony, no one is shouting out of the names of camps, no sobs from separated families. Just as quiet as Aluva, was Kallissery near Chengannur, the transit point for evacuees from the flood path of River Pamba.

THE WEEK tracked two rivers—the Periyar and the Pamba—from where they started their hysterical run all the way down to their mouths. It is a tough drive to reach the Cheruthoni dam on the Periyar; large sections of the road had been washed away.

The tourist haven of Munnar was gearing up to welcome lakhs of tourists who were to come to see the kurinji blooming; the endemic flower blooms once in 12 years. Munnar and other parts of Idukki will now see a significant drop in the number of visitors.

The Cheruthoni bridge and approach roads, which were in the way of the ferocious Periyar, are being cleaned and rebuilt. Jeevanraj M.N., PWD chief engineer, said that an action plan for road restoration has been chalked out; the first phase will focus on debris removal from landslide-hit areas and creating diversions and alternative routes.