How Our Sector Dealt with Nature’s Fury
With 2023 on course to be the hottest year in recorded history, the first cool winds portending rain on 23 September were a welcome relief. Dragging myself through the shops of Nithari, I breathed a sigh of relief. Even when the wind grew loud and forceful, I had no idea of the deluge that was to follow. The gale was followed by torrential sheets of rain. I scampered into the nearby welder’s shop where a bearded betel-chewing septuagenarian offered me a dusty and stained plastic chair to wait out the storm. The winds were so strong that even the heavy rain provided no reduction in their force. A 1000 litre tank lifted clear off the roof, and landed plunk in the middle of the dusty road, barely missing a stray pup, scuttling from shop to shop for cover.
It was short-lived, but the havoc it wreaked was to stay with us for the whole of the next week… Unpruned trees, heavy with wet branches tilted, cracked and fell. pulling down electric wiring and walls and blocking the roads. I drove home only to find a tree crashed across the entire width of the Colony road. Being well versed with the “Kunj Galliyan” of my Sector, I reached home easily but was soon deluged by phone calls about the traffic jam within the Sector. Fortunately, our SOPs for eventualities are well established, and the alternate exit was opened for car travel. God bless WhatsApp, for the quick dissemination of information on the routes!
The electricity had, of course, been switched off as soon as the winds arose, but the havoc created precluded any hope of an easy restoration of the simple amenities of urban life. Worse, in a domino effect, the water supply also had to be curtailed as the Pumps had no power. “When will bijli come???” resounded through the WhatsApp groups of all the RWA groups of Noida and Delhi.
Nature sniggered amidst the leaf-strewn streets of the NCR. “We’ll see about That!” She said. The League of whingers began their tirade… “Some Smart City we live in!”…” There is no one at the Electricity Sub-Station, I just went there!” “Inverter is exhausted”. “No water, no electricity, it’s very difficult” “The roads are blocked. How to get in??”
On the other side were the pragmatic good folk. Neighbours collected to haul away the large branches off the road and from the proximity of cars. A couple of unknown students from the Sector, entered into a quick conspiracy with Chetan, our Gen Secy to spirit away the Work Gang on their bikes, into our Sector, leaving other Sectors baffled and powerless (Sic).
The hours passed by, and the news kept getting worse and worse. 7 poles had been severely damaged. Although all senior officials were on the ground, work could only progress at a given rate. After 6 hours. Some Sections of the Sector received electricity. Others had to wait till 10 p.m. IN an interesting display of Nature’s disregard for Human Self-importance, the line to Nithari is linked to the swanky First Lane of the Sector, with opulent houses and luxury cars. Both suffered the longest, receiving their supply only after the sun was on the horizon again, ready to start a new day.
The aftermath of the storm is still with us, as we wait for the removal of fallen trees and branches. A lesson, indeed, not to ignore the warnings of Mother Nature.
