The Surtis had everything going for them. A booming economy, of what is considered the fastest growing city in the world, was enough to spawn an army of millionaires who loved to flaunt their wealth. But these lofty dreams got a cold shower from a marauding Tapi. Think Surat and all you have now are images of hemorrhagic pneumonia, plague, leptospirosis and what not. As the vast expanse of water slowly went down, hapless Surtis are left wondering  now what? Surat is on the brink of another epidemic. Flood water that invaded every inch of the city is threatening to unleash a wave of water-borne disease like diarrhoea, cholera, viral hepatitis, leptospirosis, malaria and dengue.

A miscalculation about the accumulating waters in the Ukai dam and heavy rains in the dam's catchment areas in Maharashtra led to one of the worst deluge that south Gujarat, especially Surat, had seen in almost 200 years. The (Central Water Commission) CWC's rainfall figures were inaccurate. The weather forecast also just said heavy rains, though actually the area recorded very heavy rains. This led to a point where the irrigation department could not assess the situation properly. A 'grave danger' to the Ukai dam which had already crossed the danger level of 345 feet resulted in a situation where the complete input of water from the upstream Hathnur dam in Maharashtra had to be released to save the earthen structure, because the fall-out of a dam burst could be 'catastrophic'.

On Monday 7th August, by early morning news spread like fire about the possible inundation and people were seen scampering to procure groceries in case of isolation as the administration started stopping bridges for vehicles one by one. The constant increase in the water discharge from Ukai during different hours in the day time brought unprecedented floods to areas surrounding the Tapti river like Rander, Adajan, Umra, Katargam, Amroli, Ved Road, Parle Point, Piplod and other places, prompting the government to evacuate over 1.5 lakh people.The water started entering city since Monday morning, forcing people to either leave their houses or take shelter either on roof tops or houses of relatives living in high-rise buildings. The release of over 8 lakh cusecs of water late in the evening and the high tide in the sea on Wednesday which prevented quick drainage of water from the riverand the city compounded the woes of the citizens who were caught unawares in the darkness of midnight. State and private electricity companies had to shut down power supply to preclude any mishaps with most of their substations submerged. All mobile and landline phones jammed due to congestion initially, and then, the unprecedented rush of Tapi waters and the subsequent power failure sealed the fate of all networks of communication. Even newspapers could not be circulated for 3-4 days crippling all means of information. Everybody relied on the updates given on F.M. radio which warned public to take shelter above 20 feet. Even the radio service succumbed on Thursday with water flooding its relay station as more than 90% of town cascaded due to the constant release of around 8-9 lakh cusec water.

Five columns of Army that was called in on Monday, swung into action with 70 boats and life-jackets, evacuating and rescuing people trapped on roof-tops of submerged houses in water-logged areas. The situation worsened as days passed to the extent that in all 26 columns of army had to be posted in the city.  Four IAF choppers of the biggest make available in India - MI17 with a capacity of 26 personnel or 20 tonnes supply, were also summoned which started air-dropping water pouches, food packets and rescuing people stranded on rooftops. The simultaneous decrease in rainfall and inflow in Ukai helped improve situation on Friday. Water started receding quickly by Saturday morning with 30% of the town having to wait till Sunday evening to see dry land. The city, known for its rags to riches  stories, now faced the backlash of this boom and even the wealthiest Surti was being forced to struggle like paupers for every drop of drinking water and morsel of bread. After four days of listening to their children crying for food, residents of a cluster of plush bungalows opp. my home (and that of my own apartment too), saw hope in some stray buffaloes walking past our flooded homes. They caught hold of the cattle, let them feed on the fresh green lawns of their homes and then milked them so that they could make some tea and also feed their children. Despite having all the resources at their disposal, the rich and powerful of the city have been as helpless as slum dwellers. This is but one example of how the diamond city of Surat went from riches to rags in one flood.

Tales of suffering during flood and subsequent non co-operation of major insurance companies to compensate for the losses remained the talk of the town for days. Schools and colleges had to be kept closed for the rest of the month for fear of epidemic following reports of around 170 deaths (till this report is drafted on 31-8-06) due to unknown diseases. The diamond and textile industry witnessed a major exodus as most of the people from Rander, Adajan, Katargam and Navapura, who were fleeing, did not want to be caught in the 1994 situation following the outbreak of a plague, when Surtis were unwelcome in other cities.

But there is a silver lining to every dark cloud. In this calamity, witnessed one in generations, the most notable thing that has surfaced is HUMANITY. There were numerous epics of individuals and groups risking their lives to save stranded people. Stories of sisters being helped to send rakhis to marooned brothers, pregnant women being safeguarded to maternity homes and patients being escorted to hospitals were common. Moreover fleets of volunteers from communities as far from Ahmedabad to Ahmednagar and from Bhavnagar to Bombay swarmed the city with food packets, milk and drinking water as soon as water receded

Most of the Riversiders being bad to very badly hit were crippled of resources and could not put their act together. But neighbouring clubs in the district wasted no time in embarking upon relief work in harmonization with local authorities. DG Bipin Vadhar formed a disaster relief committee comprising of the coordinators IPP Major Sharma (Udhna) and IPP Joy Shah (Surat) with the advisor PDG Devendra Shastri (West). DGE Ashok Panjwani with the help of Shammi Patel (Uptown President) and Yogesh Naik (Gandevi) arranged 3 JCBs and 9 tractors/dumpers to assist the corporation. Hand gloves, foot gloves masks and kits were also received from Rotary clubs of Ankleshwar, Bharuch and Rotary club of Bhavnagar which were distributed on 16th August and 27th August in Rander/Adajan/Pal areas. Rotary club of Sarigam had also sent medicines which were used by 6 Free OPDs being run by Indian medical Association.

All in all Surti Lalas are banking on the indomitable Gujarati entrepreneurial spirit to help Surat bounce back from this crisis. Let's pray to GOD that the deluge has acted as a speed breaker for a city on the fast track and that this definitely is NOT THE END OF THE ROAD!!!

The aftermath of floods in August 2006 brought with it nothing but losses to the poor and needy students of municipal schools. Our club (though initially staggered to get back to its feet with most of the members being affected) finally got its act together. A project was conceived and planned to distribute school bags, compass boxes, water bags to such flood affected students.