If a picture is worth more than thousand words, what could be the impact of a visual? Ask Vijayawada people to know the answer.
More than the flood, the people of the city are deluged with “concern enquiries”. And, the credit goes to the television channels that have been beaming the footage coupled with the playing of pathos music in the backdrop.
Mobile phones continue to ring even at midnight in any home in the city that has relatives or friends living outside Vijayawada.
While some express concern about safety of their loved ones, a few curious ones call to know the latest figure of the amount of flood discharged from the barrage.
“Just now we watched on television that your city is marooned in the flood waters. How safe are you?” “We are worried about your safety. Be on the watch” and “Why don’t you move out of Vijayawada as a precaution”, are some of the very common calls and suggestions from loved ones.
So far so good. But the local people continue to have a tough time in convincing the callers that “we are absolutely safe here.”
The concerned callers do not seem to be content with the answer given or the actual situation explained.
“Don’t try to hush up the matters, as we saw it on TV that situation is no good in Vijayawada.
This is how my sister rebuffed me when I negated news channels’ reports,” said V. Ramakrishna, a teacher of Gunadala area.
Those vexed with these enquiries don’t hesitate to say, “I answered so many calls that now I hate to hear – ‘I saw it on TV’.”
Some people now even dread hearing their mobile phone, which used to be a lifeline for them till a couple of days ago, ringing.
“Now, I feel that my ever-favourite Beethoven music, which I have set as my ring tone, is shredding my life into pieces,” says K. Teja, an engineering student. But, there may be no respite in the next few days as weather forecasts, alerts and discharge of flood waters would continue for another couple of days.
