By Manuwant Choudhary
Flood waters from the river Kosi are steadiliy rising in Madhepura town with water entering even homes which were safe two days ago.
Only two days ago the home of Debashish Bose in Madhepura was dry but last night when I spoke to him he said, "I have 2 feet water in my home now....the situation is bad."
Just two days ago Debashish was busy with relief work, feeding the poor from his home, now he is also a victim of floods.
There is no electricity, his BSNL telephone does not ring anymore and even he does not know how long his cellphone will work.
He has already packed up his computers and he will be now filing fewer stories and photos for the world to see. (Debashish is a stringer with TV channels and All India Radio)
But when I spoke to him he did not seem to be leaving, just yet.
And like him there are lakhs of people in the flood region who are braving the Kosi but not going anywhere, because Bihar is home...their only home.
1 comment:
It is really amazing, that I did not read any news report warning people in towns like Madhepura that the water may rise and enter the town. Surely it would have been predictable at least a couple of days in advance, which would have helped the people to prepare, and for the relief agencies to meet the challenge.
I had met Debashsis Bose some years ago, courtesy Manuwant. I hope Debashsis, his family and his town will emerge stronger after this flood. After the water has drained, I would very much like to read his reports from the heart of the flood plain, and perhaps we can all learn a few lessons from that.
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