PEOPLE watch a house being washed away by a strong current after heavy rainfall in Kottayam, Kerala. — Reuters
NEW DELHI: An Indian couple sailed across sunken streets in a giant saucepan on Monday to reach their wedding venue when heavy rain flooded the southern state of Kerala.
The couple borrowed the pot from a temple and hired two men to push the makeshift boat, according to pictures that have gone viral on social media.
“It has become a wedding that we would never have imagined,” said the bride shortly after the wedding, the broadcaster Asianet.
Floods and landslides caused by heavy weekend rains have killed 28 people across the state. While their wedding location was also partially flooded, the two were determined to tie the knot in a small ceremony.
“Should have booked a boat rather than a car …” a man can be heard in the background of a video. Both the husband and wife work in health care.
Pictures showed cars and buses inundated in the floods after Kerala was hit by heavy rains for the past four days.
Rescuers searched for survivors while the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force assisted with relief and rescue operations.
The Kerala government said it had evacuated thousands of people and set up over 100 relief camps.
In 2018, nearly 500 people were killed in floods across Kerala.
Posted in Dawn, October 19, 2021
