Kosi revisited

A lone tree still stands amidst stark sand filled surroundings which were once lush green farmland. This is one of the few landmarks that survived the deluge.

Kosi revisited: Gwalpada is a small town 15 km's south from Madhepura. This region was ravaged by a fierce flood in 2008 & the inhabitants of this region are still facing the hardships caused by the flood and its aftermath. Worst affected are those who live in the interior areas & do not have good connectivity with bigger towns of this area.

Bhanwar tola or Bhanwar pokhar is such a village. Located 15 km inside of the Gwalpada town, it is still cut out from the main road as bridges on either side of approach road had been washed away in floods & not yet been repaired.

We visited this area earlier this week & distributed Blankets & warm clothes to these people who have been living on the embankment for a long time now. The ward member of this area had been in regular touch with us after the floods & as promised to him earlier this year, we distributed the blankets there as soon as we received them.

Staying overnight at Madhepura, we left for Gwalpada early morning, around 3.00Am. We had to reach them before daybreak to avoid being stopped at other villages in the route as we were carrying blankets. We drove in almost total darkness because of heavy fog with visibility down to 5 meters at times on the broken embankment approach road. It was a difficult ride, but we managed to reach Bhanwar tola before daybreak

~chandan