Floods in the Mountains Mt.Abu

Floods in the Mountains of Mt.Abu

I retrieved my laptop from the cabinet during the second week of August, intending to share some observations about the monsoon on Facebook. Our community, known as Abuites, was quite concerned, as we had encountered only about six light showers until August 7th, with just two of them being heavy. It seemed like we were heading into another dry spell.

On the morning of August 9th, the rain started with a gentle drizzle, intensifying as the day progressed. By midday, the downpour had become a torrential deluge, as if the gates of heaven had opened, releasing a flood instead of the expected brimstone and fire. It transformed the hill station into a waterlogged landscape.

Streams of water began flowing down the small creek in front of our house, causing our modest bridge to overflow. The water volume surged by the minute, and I realized a flash flood was imminent. Relentless heavy rain persisted, and the continuous downpour led to torrents of water converging towards the major drainage system. Unfortunately, the neglected state of the streams and gutters aggravated the situation because of obstructions and backflows, causing water levels to rise in various parts of Abu. It submerged the main road under over three feet of water, and landslides blocked some pathways, forcing people to detour around the affected areas, even trekking from the Hanuman temple because of the landslide.

The deluge caused a significant wall in front of Dhundai Central School to collapse, with debris obstructing the fast-moving water. Vehicles parked in the area became submerged and the current swept away motorcycles. Amid the chaos, my cook, Naresh and I trudged through waist-deep water to retrieve our drifting water storage tanks. I moved my scooter to higher ground and secured our water tanks to the main iron door. As the water level kept rising, the surrounding landscape changed dramatically, with water reaching the fourth step of our house. Liz, who was on her bed, attempted to call for help, but connectivity issues made it difficult. She eventually managed to contact people in town to inform them of our situation.

Around 1:45 pm, water seeped into the house, and by 2 pm, it had risen to three feet. Time was running short, preventing us from salvaging belongings. The rising water engulfed cupboards, causing fridges and a washing machine to float. Liz’s bed was adrift, prompting me to move her into her specialized wheelchair. Urging Naresh and our maid to hold on to the wheelchair, I struggled to open the rear iron door, which was obstructed by the rising water. I put in a lot of effort and managed to open it, letting the water rush in.

The water level had reached about four feet inside the house, submerging Liz’s lower body. After clearing the debris, we guided her to the back of the house. "With the combined effort and Liz's cooperation, we successfully transported her to the rooftop.". As the unrelenting rain ceased by 4 pm, the water gradually receded, leaving behind a messy aftermath. Liz was lowered from the roof by CRPF personnel and taken to a temporary shelter at the Starlet hostel. Leonard and his team arrived to begin the cleanup and restoration process. I’m immensely thankful to everyone who extended their help to Liz and me during this challenging situation.

Despite the impending danger, I managed to capture a few photographs.

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Close to 1pm, the water 10 above the stream

The rising water

Three feet of water in the kitchen

One of the fridges floating,the water came through the window 

Naresh and the tank

The stream looks like a river 

 The water level at our threshold 

P.S
Read more on the Heavy Rain in Mt.Abu
have a look at the video clip I took Floods in Abu

BSNL Open House Session Mount Abu

Mount Abu, on the 30th May 2008 had its first ever “Open house session” in the history of this town. The venue itself was the ground in front of the exchange. A shamiyana was set up for the purpose. The meeting was to begin by 3.pm, I reached the ground along with my brother-in-law sharp at the appointed time, we were greeted by a few of the BSNL agents, the exchange staff and the officials who were going to conduct the open house session.

Indian standard time, or rather Indian Stretchable time, is the norm here. I can’t remember a single meeting run by any government or semi government office ever starting on time. The meeting did get underway finally around 4pm, several Abuites and some personnel from Abu Road were present for the meeting. From my point of view quite a few of the natives had come to the meeting out of a sense of curiosity.

I suppose they were there to see some action, like mud slugging, for after all it was an invitation to OPEN House session. Generally the public at large are not too happy with the services provided by this giant corporation. For some BSNL means “Do not go for this Connection even by mistake, in Hindi it means Bhool SE Na Lena” Why then do Lakhs of people opt for this service, if this service is not up to the mark, why don’t they go for more satisfactory services such as Tata Indicom, Vodaphone, Airtel etc. There is only one explanation for these customers, it’s better to go with a known devil than with an unknown one. For some others it’s their loyalty to the Giant Corporation for having served their fathers and fore-fathers.

The meeting was addressed by by the General Manager B.K.Kaarecha, his speech was to the point and he admitted that a lot more had to be done to better the service all over Rajasthan. The Chairman of the Municipality Jalam Giri along with quite a few senior citizens were the first to be handed the mike to air their grievances and to make suggestions for a more positive outlook. Some serious recommendations were made, one that the “linemen “should be increased as they are the crucial point of contact between BSNL and its end users. There were some hilarious remarks made by some of the audience, one complaint claimed he had made a thousand phone calls to the department for a refund of Rs 2000/- due to him, over a period of four years. I wish him luck and hope this open session discussion refunds this loyal customer his dues.

The mindset of the BSNL staff needs to be changed, via conferences, discussions and seminars, if the message is carried over and they adhere to the adage “The Customer is Right’ the reputation and integrity of the company would expand and Bsnl would rule the roost, otherwise with their present attitude they will go to the dogs in years to come. To be fair to them the quality of service provided has improved significantly over the past few years after the introduction of private operators. We in Abu did have our share of disappointments over the years but today with marked improvement and broadband facility we Abuites are quite contented with the BSNL services I do not vouch for the rest of the country.