Picking up the pieces after months of agony

Several families in Uma Maheshwar Colony had to rebuild their flood-ravaged homes almost from scratch

Take a tour of the Uma Maheshwar Colony beside Fox Sagar Lake in Jeedimetla and the sight of quite a few recently-painted houses is sure to greet you. Some houses in between, however, will stand out like a sore thumb, with locks hanging on the worn-out doors.

The vibrant look of some houses is not to mark the festive season. Residents had to repair and repaint their homes following catastrophic rains which lashed the city exactly a year ago, on the night of October 13, flooding the locality up to 10 feet. Not to mention, electric wiring, wooden furniture and electronic equipment were completely damaged. Only the pillars and walls were left standing, say locals.

Every house in the locality suffered a minimum loss of ₹50,000 to ₹2 lakh as their household good and valuables that they could not carry to safety bore the brunt of the floods.