Rain, rain go away...

So I'm not exactly exaggerating when I report that it has been raining in Mussoorie since I arrived here almost 3 weeks ago. The rain has been unprecedented: monsoon rainfall this year broke a 44-year old record by registering 3013.3 mm so far. The subsequent flooding has caused landslides, roadblocks, and other such havoc. They are reporting that the Tehri dam (down the mountain from where I am thankfully) are threatening flooding in Uttarakhand (where Mussoorie is) and Uttar Pradesh (where Lucknow and Varanasi are). As of about 5 days ago, because roads have been destroyed and train lines have stopped running, Uttarakhand is completely cut off from the rest of India. There is no way in or out. The state has already been promised 500 crore rupees (over 100 million dollars - I think) by the central government, which considering the Common Wealth Games debacle - hell, the NYTimes is even reporting this! - seems pretty generous (assume that statement as cynical as you like). Hopefully, soon Allen will be able to report on what the fallout from the CWG has been from the Indian perspective (wink, wink, nudge, nudge Allen).