: After nearly two weeks away from home, Faizullaganj residents are finding little to return to. Rotting furniture, ruined appliances, peeling wall plaster and the stench of overflowing septic tanks have turned their homes into uninhabitable spaces, leaving many struggling to come to terms with the loss.
For families who had locked their houses and moved to safer places, the damage has been devastating. Belongings accumulated over years have been destroyed, while filth and dampness continue to make homes difficult to live in.
Sushma, who lived with her family on the ground floor of a rented house in Gaur Bheet for two years, said almost everything inside had been damaged. Her husband, Rakesh, works with the Lucknow Municipal Corporation.
“The furniture, washing machine, submersible pump, cooler, dining table and beds have all been ruined. We had everything a middle-class family needs in a home,” she said.
The family left on October 3, locking up the house. Sushma and her husband moved to her maternal home in Paper Mill Colony, Nishatganj, while their children and mother-in-law stayed with a relative in Kanpur. On returning, she found their ground-floor belongings destroyed.
In Ganesh Vihar’s D Block, Pappu returned to inspect the house he had built 12 years ago. He had furnished and decorated it with care for his wife and children, choosing things to suit their needs.
{{/usCountry}}In Ganesh Vihar’s D Block, Pappu returned to inspect the house he had built 12 years ago. He had furnished and decorated it with care for his wife and children, choosing things to suit their needs.
{{/usCountry}}“I never imagined that I would return one day and barely recognise my own home,” he said.
The foul smell, damp walls and overflowing toilets have compounded the damage. Beds and doors have become waterlogged and started rotting, while refrigerators, coolers and other electrical appliances have been ruined. After seeing the condition of his home following 14 days of flooding, Pappu broke down.
For residents, the receding water has brought little relief. Cleaning up, repairing damaged homes and replacing essential household goods will take time and money, even as the stench and filth continue to hamper their return to normal life.
Residents are now hoping for concrete relief and lasting measures to prevent a repeat of the crisis following Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to the area on October 15. For many families, the challenge is no longer simply returning home, but making their homes home again.
Floods hit 50,000 in Faizullaganj, LMC plans 12-day cleanup
Flooding across an eight-kilometre stretch of Faizullaganj has affected around 50,000 people in 6,500 houses, prompting the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) to plan a 10-12-day sanitation drive after the water started receding to prevent waterborne diseases and infections.
State finance and parliamentary affairs minister and Lucknow minister in-charge Suresh Khanna inspected flood-hit localities and reviewed relief operations at the LMC control room on Friday. He directed officials to expedite drainage and ensure safe drinking water, sanitation and essential supplies for affected families.
Focus on sanitation, disease prevention
Municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar briefed Khanna on the impact of the flooding and the relief measures underway, including food distribution, drinking water supply, temporary shelters and health protection.
Khanna directed officials to supply drinking water through tankers and advise residents against using submersible pumps, as floodwater could contaminate groundwater. He also ordered inspections of septic tanks, deployment of suction machines where needed, drain clearance, anti-larval spraying and fogging.
He said the water could take around a week to recede completely, making post-flood sanitation crucial.
Mayor Sushma Kharkwal directed the civic body to deploy all available water tankers and mobile toilets in affected areas and monitor residents’ needs. The LMC will also work to restore access routes and explore interlocking roads to improve basic infrastructure.
Embankment proposed to check recurring floods
For a long-term solution, Khanna directed officials to examine the feasibility of an embankment along the river to prevent recurring floods in Faizullaganj. He also asked them to prepare proposals for the state government and explore policy measures for regularising colonies in the area.
Khanna said chief minister Yogi Adityanath had conducted an aerial survey of the affected localities, while Defence Minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh had also visited the area.
The LMC said relief, sanitation and rehabilitation work would continue until conditions improve and residents can return to normal life.