Essay "River in flood"

It is a pity that even more than half a century after independence, India has not so far been able to establish any set policy for controlling floods. Millions of rupees set apart for flood control are actually pocketed by the corrupt officials.

Last week, it rained very heavily in this part of the country. All the rivers, canals, lakes and even streets were flooded.

I learnt that the Yamuna which runs only a few kilometers away from my house, was flooded and had submerged vast areas. I went to see the Yamuna in flood.

I went there on my bicycle. I was moving on the main road. I saw a large number of people, mostly villagers, coming from the opposite direction with their household goods and cattle. I learnt that their houses and fields had been flooded.

As I moved forward, I saw with my own eyes crops on either side of the road under knee deep water. I continued moving forwards on the main road which was constructed at a sufficiently high level.

As I came close to the bridge over the river, I was halted from going forward by a policeman. I was told that the water in the river had crossed the danger mark and the bridge had been endangered and so traffic over it had been closed.

I looked on both sides. The whole area for miles on both sides had turned into a vast sea of water. Water was swirling and its level was rising rapidly. Numerous household goods were floating over it. I even found several head of cattle being carried away by the gushing water.

As the water level had risen to an alarming height, and it seemed to be preparing to flow over the road also, I rushed back to my house to avoid any dangerous situation which might arise.