No water, electricity for over 100 hours due to Amphan: Double trouble for Kolkata residents amid Covid-19

After Cyclone Amphan, many in Kolkata have been living without power supply in the heat. With coronavirus lockdown still in place and nowhere to go, they say they don’t see their situation improving in days to come.

Sixty-five-year-old Pramod Chandak has to carry a bucket of water at least five times every day to his fourth-floor flat. Pramod is one of the many in Kolkata who have been living without power supply for more than 100 hours.

No power supply means no water too.

Speaking to India Today, Pramod Chandak says he has not been able to take a bath in last two days to reduce the number of buckets he has to carry. His wife, Madhuri, says she has been extremely cautious about water usage and values each drop. She says they are not washing clothes also.

People in Kolkata are facing problems as it has almost been over a hundred hours of no electricity. On one hand, social distancing to prevent the novel coromabirus has gone for a toss and on the other, Cyclone Amphan is making it difficult for them to stay indoors.

“Right now, the biggest challenge is that we have been without power supply and water since 100 hours. We have to fetch water from downstairs and for a person of my age, it's not easy climbing floors with buckets of water every day. And water is essential. We can do without a bath but how can we do live without water in the kitchen. Besides, a tree fell on the main gate of our building and since there is nobody there to remove it, we are unable to even venture out of the building,” Pramod Chandak says.

Pramod Chandak and Madhuri’s live alone in Kolkata. Their children are settled in Australia. “It is just the two of us and with coronavirus, things have become very difficultit has become difficult to survive also. This is painful,” he says.

As the family sits with their windows open for some relief in the simmering heat, they have emptied their entire refrigerator on the table.

“I used to fill my refrigerator with essentials. All is ruined now. It's getting very difficult for us to work but what can be done. We try to use minimum water,” Madhuri says.

On restoration delays, Madhuri says, “The government says a lot but never delivers. There has been no electricity here from the past five days and we do not have water. The government says it will fix all issues but it never happens and because of this, we are facing problems."

As threat of coronavirus looms, all that families like the Chandaks can do is sit in their rooms, using paper as fan and wait for the government to restore essential services.