While the civic authority and the rest of the city have been rejoicing over the heavy rains that put an end to the dry spell in the past two days, Sakina Bano (name changed), a 35-year-old Kurla-resident has been having nightmares.

For Bano the rains are a constant reminder of July 26, 2005. That was the day that Bano lost her home and saw bodies of her neighbours floating past her submerged ground-floor house.

Traumatised by the deluge, in June 2006, Bano insisted on leaving the city and going to her native place in Uttar Pradesh. In July 2007, she insisted on shifting from her Kurla-residence and stayed in a room on the top floor of a hotel during the rains.

Today, three years after the deluge, Bano is undergoing treatment to rationalise her fears and to lead a normal life, once again. “Bano’s case is extreme and patients like her, who have such extreme reactions to catastrophes or calamities, require pharmacotherapy and behaviour therapy,” said Dr Yusuf Matcheswalla from Messina Hospital, Byculla.
Apart from medication, Bano also undergoes 45-minute sessions every week with a counsellor or psychiatrist. “She has also been put on systemic de-sensitisation programme,” he added.

According to experts, post 26/7, many Mumbaikars, like Bano, continue to suffer from monsoon-related anxiety. “There are several people who still associate even a drizzle with the floods. They dread the rains and try to avoid going out in the monsoon,” said Dr Ambika Bhatt, psychiatrist.

“The cases of post traumatic stress disorder, which several children and adults suffered from after 26/7, have gone down. But there are people who still panic if it rains for even a few hours,” said Matcheswalla.