Virar-based Sagar Dusa&rsquo;s home in Tirupati Nagar was <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/photo/in-photos-maharashtra-monsoon-fury-virar-waterlogged-after-heavy-rains-normal-life-thrown-out-of-gear-111953/1" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">without power, phone network, or WiFi to work for three days</a>. The situation was so bad that knee-deep water had entered the house, forcing him to move to a friend&rsquo;s home to work.&nbsp;
While the situation is limping back to normalcy, the vegetable supplies are drying up.&nbsp;
&ldquo;There are a few ration shops open, so I went and bought the basic essentials. We also have a huge vegetable market. However, only a few stalls are operating. So I bought fruits and some basic vegetables. They&rsquo;re selling vegetables at a higher price because obviously they want to make money,&rdquo; says Dusa.
The <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/photo/in-photos-vasai-virar-reels-under-heavy-rain-as-flooding-disrupts-normal-life-111956/1" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">past few days have been harrowing for the residents of the Vasai-Virar region</a>. Even as Mumbai received its much-needed rain, the people in Vasai, Nalasopara and Virar, have been grappling with flood-like situations in several areas. While some have been dealing with power cuts for three days, others have had to move from their homes and find a roof elsewhere. There is a shortage of supply of water cans, vegetables, and milk, and shopkeepers predict they could run out of eggs.
<h2>Trouble for people moving houses</h2>
For Vasaikars Teresa Rodrigues and her husband, who have just moved houses last weekend, the lack of a gas connection has made it difficult to cook food.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t connect the cylinder or call a technician because everything is in a mess and they are not coming this side because of the waterlogging. We have been eating cold food,&rdquo; said Rodrigues.&nbsp;
The weather has made Rodrigues sick, and while she is looking to relax, she has to deal with more.&nbsp;
&ldquo;My washing machine isn&rsquo;t connected in the new house, and no laundry person can come to collect the clothes. So I literally have three buckets of clothes piling up. I washed the ones that I need urgently with my hand. I went to the grocery shop down, and the lady said to stock up on eggs because apparently eggs are not coming. So, we bought bread and eggs.&rdquo; However, she is counting her blessings, as she lives on a higher floor and doesn&rsquo;t have to deal with waterlogging like many other unfortunate people in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sunday-mid-day/article/selling-fast-in-vasai-virar-home-with-plunge-pool-23300712" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Diwanman, Anand Nagar, and Chulna village, among other areas</a>. Like Virar, locals in Nalasopara also reported facing 72-hour power cuts, while having to wade through waist-deep water, living only a few minutes away from the railway station.
<h2>Shortage of supplies&nbsp;</h2>
It is not only Rodrigues but also Lucy Pinto who has faced shortages of supplies.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I went to the market but there are no vegetables or milk. Elsewhere, people had to stand in line to get their vegetables from the local vegetable seller. As there was nothing, I at least bought eggs so that I can make something with it," she says.&nbsp;
According to a shopkeeper in the area, the trucks haven&rsquo;t been coming with vegetables over the past few days because of the flooding.
&ldquo;There is also no supply of distilled water cans because of the flooding across Vasai. All the eggs that I have are also over as many people came to buy them,&rdquo; another adds.
<h2>Commuting woes</h2>
Many other locals have it worse as they have been navigating waist-high water if not more to move around. Locals are sharing troubling stories of having to walk from Bhayandar after the trains stopped working, and waiting for more than 30 minutes, before walking towards Naigaon, and finally getting a train there. Some others said they had to walk all the way from Vasai railway station to their homes across the town. <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/photo/in-photos-heavy-rains-flood-vasai-virar-commuters-turn-to-tractors-to-reach-railway-stations-111937/1" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Others were using tractors to travel around</a>.
&ldquo;My dad travelled to Mumbai yesterday. The trains were delayed significantly. There were people walking from Vasai to Nalasopara on the tracks. While returning, he could only get his bike until Manickpur, that also by dragging it in the water. He kept it at a relative&rsquo;s place there And then came walking till Bhabola Naka, got an autorickshaw till Deotalav, and then again walked to Merces, shares Naomi Fargose from Merces village in Vasai.
For those who do not have private vehicles, the situation has led to autorickshaw drivers charging significantly higher fares, especially in emergency situations.
An average Rs 15 sharing fare is now being charged Rs 60-70 for private autorickshaws, and even Rs 300 for a return trip. A local hospital also saw patients being brough in the fire brigade twice in a day due to unavailability of ambulances, highlighting the extent to which locals in the region have had to deal with the flooding.
<h2>Waterlogging hits businesses&nbsp;</h2>
It is not only people but also businesses that have been affected by the flooding. &nbsp;
Kadambari Lobo and her sister Jessica, who run a home baking business The Cake Next Door, and Catherine&rsquo;s Caf&eacute; in Vasai, share, &ldquo;The flooding in Vasai has affected us terribly because our businesshad to be shut &nbsp;for four days due to the non-stop rains and waterlogging in most areas of Vasai,&rdquo; she says.
&ldquo;All the prep work that was done for the weekend is now wasted as these are perishable items and cannot be stored or served later. Customers cannot reach us because of the waterlogging, and we cannot deliver because we cannot risk the delivery boys going to these areas for many reasons,&rdquo; Kadambari adds.
This has led to loss of business for the sisters mainly because weekend is when most cafes make a good sale compared to the rest of the week.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Everything we prepped for will now be discarded when we can go back to the kitchen. We will now have to reorder all the materials again, which honestly doesn't come cheap like before. Every week, the prices of ingredients change, and unfortunately, it's not something we can explain to customers. We also cannot increase the rates every now and then. We will now have to pay extra money for delivery etc of items because visiting us will be difficult due to the waterlogging. The equipment also gets spoilt sometimes due to the non-stop power cuts. Last year, our chiller and fridge got spoilt. This year, our stabiliser got burnt.&rdquo;&nbsp;
All of this is leading them to lose more than they earn.&nbsp;
&ldquo;June was a slow month for business, and another important issue was the massive electricity bills we all got for the month. Our cafe bill and kitchen bill were much higher, even though our consumption was not, so there is a lot to look into,&rdquo; she adds.
Further sharing, &ldquo;The desserts, milk, cream cheese, ganache, frostings, and prepped chicken have got spoiled. In my husband&rsquo;s caf&eacute;, all the vegetables and freezers got affected by flooding.&rdquo;&nbsp;
An irritated Lobo concludes, &ldquo;No matter how frustrated we are, there is no solution to our problems. No one is going to help us because we have to bear all the losses and do all the repairing work. Politicians always promise that this rainy season will be better for all, but ask the people of Vasai how much of this is true. My husband's cafe and storage unit got waterlogged all of his stock is now ruined and cannot be saved. Who will pay for all this? Hospitality as an industry is tough, and it's very difficult to make money, and then when these things happen, it's just sad.&rdquo;

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Cold food, knee-deep water, 72-hour power cuts: Inside Vasai-Virar's flood nightmare

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Home / Mumbai / Mumbai News / Article / Cold food, knee-deep water, 72-hour power cuts: Inside Vasai-Virar's flood nightmare