Stranded Hyderabadis limp back home

HYDERABAD: Hyderabadis who were stranded in rain-hit Mumbai for the past few days are slowly making their way back home. They returned by a special train from Pune at 3.30 pm on Monday. But reaching Pune from Mumbai to take the train was a herculean task.
"It was a nightmarish experience. There was water everywhere. We were confined to our hotel for three days," said G Prathima, who went to Mumbai to attend an interview for a private company.Prathima was accompanied by her younger brother who was on a sight-seeing trip.
But the rains spoiled their plans. Luckily, for Prathima the rain situation in the metro worsened only after she took the interview.
"Our parents back home were worried and wanted us to stay back till the situation returns normalcy. However, we dared to venture out after road traffic was opened two days back. We took the special train to Hyderabad from Pune and finally reached home," Prathima's brother Subramayam said.
"My plans to see Mumbai were washed away in the rains," he said. The trip to Mumbai was unforgettable for even K Phani Kumar who went with his father to visit their relatives to Mumbai on Tuesday last.
Phani Kumar went out to watch a movie at a nearby theatre. Before he was out, the situation in the city worsened. "It took two-and-half hours to reach my relatives place which was just two km away," he said. Phani Kumar and his father had no option but to stay back in Mumbai, but when they learnt that the railways would not be able to run trains till August 6, they decided to somehow reach Hyderabad.
They hired a taxi to Pune and caught the train back home. "The train was jampacked," he said.
For Mohd Pasha Baig, a businessmen, who was on a trip to Mumbai to purchase fancy items at a cheaper rate proved very costly. "I had to spend an extra Rs 2,500 for being stranded in Mumbai," he said.
Baig, somehow reached Pune on Saturday cursing his fate for the expenditure he incurred as a result of getting stranded in Mumbai.
But for N Srivalli, the Mumbai stand-off for three days left pleasant memories. "I enjoyed the rains very much. But I am sad that I could not see the city," she said.
Wading in knee-deep waters was an unforgettable experience for K Srinivas Reddy. He went to Mumbai on Monday last to try for a job. He stayed at his friends residence at Worli and was stranded till Saturday. On Saturday morning, Reddy however made his mind to move out of Mumbai at any cost. He changed several buses to reach Pune by night and finally took train from there to Hyderabad.