Citizens Wade Through Neck-Deep Water To Get Drinking Water As Cyclone Amphan Leaves Trail Of Destruction

Cyclone Amphan has left a trail of devastation in its wake. It has demolished houses which are now broken, roof-less and devoid of walls to stop the water flowing in.

Ghosh is a resident of Kolkata's Netaji Palli which half-a-kilometre away from the main Bashirhat-Nezat Road. Her house is submerged in water from the nearby Bethani River which has been overflowing since the past five days.

"The area is completely flooded. The two of us are somehow passing each day. My husband is physically challenged, he needs help while walking. Our daughters are not able to help us. They work in people's houses and give us money. Due to lockdown, neither are they able to work nor can they give us money. We are in so much pain," Ghosh said.

"This cyclone was much more powerful than Aila. There is water logging everywhere. We can't live without food. Even if we have dry food, we need to drink water. The government told us to go to the nearby school for shelter, but we couldn't go. We are aged. The tarpaulin which we used to cover our roof is blown away," she added.

Many areas in Sandeshkhali-1, a block in the North 24 Parganas district are still submerged in water.

The cyclone has also destroyed all embankments which led to the river water flooding the entire block. This has made it impossible for those living in one or two-storey homes to even step out.

Sulekha Ghosh (36) has resorted to carrying a set of clothes from her house to the main road every day since shehe has to change her wet clothes as she sits on the roadside all day hoping to get some respite in the form of food and drinking water. Since her house has submerged and her seven-year-old child had to be taken in a boat to keep him safe from the neck-deep water.

The cyclone has claimed the lives of more than 85 people in India and Bangladesh, it demolished tens of thousands of homes and battered Kolkata when it made landfall on May 20.

Due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown implemented to curb the spread of Coronavirus many people have lost their livelihoods. In such a situation the extensive damage caused by the cyclone will potentially take a while to repair and bring back a normal life.