As Water Recedes, How Keralites Fight To Get Back To Homes

At Niranam Village in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala the flags of Brazil and Argentina still flutter over a flooded field. Kerala is football crazy - but those who watched and cheered for their favourite teams from here would not have known that they would be facing record rain.

Patanamthitta district in is one of the worst hit in the state. After heavy rainfall the dam shutters were opened following which three rivers burst banks flooding fields and homes in the area.

Days later, the water has receded, but the challenge now is to clean the homes and make them liveable once again.

Abdul Nasar, Officer in Special Duty for the floods in Thiruvalla spoke to NDTV at a relief camp at Parumala Church. He said, "They celebrated Onam here with good spirit. There are supplies here - but the next challenge is cleaning up their homes so that they can return. The water has gone down. But now we need volunteers, cleaning material - brooms, buckets and bleach. They also need clean, new clothes."

In one of the house, a bridegroom and his family were preparing for his wedding on September 11. Clothes bought for the occasion had been ruined by the water that has flooded the house. His brother in law, Shyju, showed how a new bed they had bought was balanced on chairs for safety. "People are still coming for the wedding. But we have lost so much. The water has spoilt things in the cupboards. We have piled everything up for safety."