Day of rescues

When some of them couldn’t stand it any more, they waded through to Dakor station. ‘‘It seemed like a long distance then though it must not be more than 10 feet away. Our train was on the central track and it was difficult to reach the platform,’’ said Kothari.

Relief came when two buses arrived to take them to Ahmedabad but it was shortlived, says Gulshan Nirmal who was with Kothari. ‘‘It led to passengers fighting among themselves to find a place on the bus. Eventually, everyone had to come back as the buses too could not go ahead due to flooded roads.’’

Soon, it was dark and the passengers spent the night hoping the water level wouldn’t go up. ‘‘Every 15 minutes, people would go to the doors and the toilets to check the water levels. We noticed that water had started rushing into the coaches around 2.30 am on Thursday and every one immediately became alert. Kids were shifted to the upper berths while people had started moving the luggage in case the water rushed in,’’ says 19-year-old Chirag Turhakhia, who studies jewellery designing at Rajkot.

‘‘At 2.30 am, we were making calls to almost anyone who was in a position to help us. Seeing the water levels rise further was like the final blow and suddenly I realised that I might not see my children again,’’ says Abha Sheth, who was travelling with daughter Manali.

‘‘Fortunately, nothing happened. We spent the night trying to make small talk with others, playing games, praying and singing bhajans,’’ says Nirmal.

‘‘We were like one big family, sharing every thing that we could — food, water, blankets, our worst fears of not being able to make it,’’ says Praveen.

With morning came hope. ‘‘The sound of the chopper had most of us rushing to the door to see if help had arrived. However, they just threw food packets, most of which the locals snatched away while a few got wet and food was wasted,’’ says Abha. ‘‘We kept cellphones off. In turns, I would replace the battery once one would die out and thus we managed to keep in touch with the outside world till Friday evening when my husband finally arrived.’’

About 70 passengers decided to leave with her husband, Rajesh Bhatt, who had arranged for vehicles.

Troops rescue 350 kids

Ahmedabad: Troops in motor boats rescued around 350 children from a school hostel after it was surrounded by flood waters. Soldiers and police pulled out the students from the first floor of the building in Harup village, 75 km from here. —Reuters