Eloor colony flooded again.

Kochi: The Bosco colony in Eloor was flooded again on Monday after a day's gap. With barely two weeks left for the Onam festival, the residents fear that they will be forced to spend it in relief camps. The waters rose when some of them returned to their homes to clean them.

From Sunday evening itself, the water level had begun to rise as the Idamalayar shutters were opened. "Some of us were at home for cleaning and keeping the household goods in safe positions. Around 8 p.m., we saw the water level rising. In the morning, when we once again returned from the camp, our houses were flooded like on the first day. Most of us had cleaned the houses three times before this happened. We don't know what to do now. We are tired of doing the same thing again and again," said Lakshmi Murukan of Erikkeril house, ward 13, Eloor.

Meanwhile, there are no places to dump the wastes and things that are no longer useful to them.

Saturday and Sunday were a relief for the residents but the next day turned distressing for the daily-wage labourers. "I am a toddy tapper and the area was a major source of my income. I was not able to work for the past five days because of the flood. Today, I came to start the work, but I could do nothing. It may take around one month to get back to my normal job. I am not a resident here, but I know the situation of these people," said Radhakrishnan, toddy tapper of the Eloor area.

Almost all the residents of the colony cleaned up their houses by sanitizing and disinfecting them with alum and chlorine. "The water came inside my house for the third time in the past five days. My children had fever and pain in their legs. We are scared of epidemics that strike after the flood. I am tired of this," said P.S. Sanal of Palakkandathil house.

The district authorities closed six of the ten camps on Sunday as the water receded and people started going back to their houses. But on Monday, the residents returned to the camps as the water level started to rise again.

Chandramathi, 13th ward councillor of Eloor municipality, said, "we were planning to close the remaining camps as the inmates were willing to go back to their homes. But as the situation turned bad, we have decided to keep the camps open till we get a clear picture of the water level," she said.