We travel 30 km to get phones charged; not enough drinking water

Ade Twelve days after the cyclone destroyed Raigad area most villagers continue to live in the dark and wait for their houses to be fixed Many travel kilometres to villages that have power to charge their phone batteries and some complain of being exploited by the villagers who charge themAde Uttamber Padle Anjarle Murdi and Kelsi are among the villages that still dont have electricity Ade with a population of 3500 people living in 350 houses is one of the worst affected villages in the district and 32 km away is Dapoli where MSEDCL restored the supply last weekWe go to Dapoli to charge our handsets as the power It is tiring but cell phone has become an essential commodity these days When the cyclone hit I was in Dapoli with my family Next morning a health worker informed me that my house at Ade was damaged said Dillip Patil a retired officer from Konkan Agriculture UniversityAde village resident Vijay Wayangankar with his family on FridayI left for Ade but all the roads leading were blocked as huge trees had uprooted and fallen It took more than a day to clear the roads Over 5000 trees had fallenbetween Dapoli and Ade villages Patil addedThe residents of Surai near Mhasla Taluka have also been travelling to other villages where power has been restored to charge their phones The power is yet to be restored in Surai We travel several kilometres to a nearby village to charge our phones at shops where the shopkeeper charges 30 per person It is really shameful said a woman who does not wish to be namedA few others have been charging their handsets in car Surai villagers said in case of medical emergency they have to travel to a hospital in Mangaon which is at least 45 minutes away as the small governmentrun clinics are have been damagedThe destroyed house of Vijay Wayangankar at Ade village on FridayRecalling the natural calamity Vinaya Wayangankar told midday We had taken shelter in a temple in our village We could not even dare to stand near the window as the sound of the cyclonic storm was damn scary It lasted for nearly 30 minutes and I thought I will die Her familys 250 betel nut and 60 coconut trees were damaged in the cycloneHer father Vijay said he has been having stomach issues as he has been getting chapatis The wheat cannot be ground as there is no power supply I have been eating rice since the cyclone and its constipated me I am restless most of the days added Vijay a retired executive at Agriculture University in KonkanThere is no drinking water in the village My daughter has to walk several kilometres to fetch water from a well But it does not taste goodThe municipality has just started sending tanker to our village but the demand for drinking water remains unfulfilled as the supply is insufficient said VijayHe added The Primary Health Centre is 4 km away from but I cannot walk to consult a doctors The PHCs vehicle doesnt work and private vehicles are demanding R400 in this crisis I cannot afford so muchAnother villager Pritam Murudkar said the electricity officials have been working in the area and over two dozen youth from the village are assisting them to restore the supply The ATM machine in our village is not functioning as there is no power We cannot withdraw money to repair our damaged houses It is rainy season and all my belongings are getting damaged The government must do something to give us immediate relief Murudkar addedSanchita Mahadik a health worker from Ade said Our houses havent been fixed yet One needs a trained worker to repair the damages but they all already have so much on their hands fixing other houses in the villageThe disaster management team of Kaneri Math Kolhapur said they have been extending full help to the villages that have suffered heavy damage in the cyclone Kaneri Math conducted a survey and started working on the houses that were badly damaged and are first helping those who cannot afford to fix it themselvesThe government bodies are working round the clock We also first cleared the roads so that the relief material can reach the needy immediately We have enough manpower relief materials like clay roof tiles steel pipes earth excavating machines etc Our teams are working in nearly 10 locations simultaneously from Murud to Kelsi villages Our priority is to get their houses repaired as soon as possible said Kada Siddheshwar Swami who was monitoring the relief work at AdeCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news