Saturday, December 26, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Flood update: Bharathua embankment, Aurai, Muzaffarpur
Dear friends,
Given below in brief are the flood relief work undertaken near Bharathua, in Aurai block , Muzaffarpur.
1. Muzaffarpur
Location - Bharathua embankment, 40 Km from Muzaffarpur on Sitamadhi highway.
Panchayat: Benipur
Relief for people living on Bagmati embankment near villages Bharathua, Benipur & Shankarpur
This embankment was breached earlier this month & thousands of people took refuge here. Many are still living on the embankment in very testing conditions, & are living in shelters made by flimsy polythene sheet.They need food, potable water & medicines,along with day to day requirements like soap, disinfectant,kerosene lanterns et al
Sushma Ji of Tejasaswi Sewa Sansthan, Sonepur has been working with these people shortly after the inundation.
Tejasawi Sewa Sansthan (TSS) had written to Ashok requesting help & we were able to communicate & coordinate help for the same earlier this week.
We had met Sushma Ji & members of TSS at their Sonepur office on 25th of this month & delivered the relief material listed below
- Silverex (Silver Sulfadiazine) antimicrobial creme ( Rexin pharma,24gm Rs 58) -24 pc
- Biodryl cough medication(children) 80 bottles
- Paracetimol tablets (Calpol) 550 ( 55 strips)
- Reduced osmolarity ORS sachets (Biotral) 400
- Water purification tablets (blister pack) 75 mg stabilized tablets -1,10,000 tabs
- Clothes : Children, women,men( used clothes) 12 cartons
Today early morning, we picked Shusma Ji & her colleague from Sonepur and reached the distribution site by 9 am. After walking for 3-4 KM , the materials were brought to the embankment. TSS had earlier made a list of beneficiaries from those taking shelter on the embankment & distribution was done accordingly. As we also had to go to Madhubani ( Benibad) for flood relief, we were carrying clothes & medicines for the same. However, as we saw that it would not be possible to cover even one section of beneficiaries with the material that TSS had, we gave them the clothes we were carrying for Benibad ( 5 cartons)
A lot more has to be done in that area & we will try our best to help them with what we have. Sushma Ji & her team are committed and hardworking & are undertaking relief work in Aurai block. Whenever we can, we will try to help them with relief materials, transportation & distribution. . Today Srikant ji was with them & helped them with what he could.
We will be working with TSS for Aurai region in the coming days.
Am attaching some pictures of same.
best regards,
~chandan
flood update: Kusheshwarsthan, 40 Km from Darbhanga
Dear friends,
Given below in brief are the flood relief work undertaken near Kusheshwarsthan.
1. Darbhanga.
Location - Kusheshwarsthan, 40 Km from Darbhanga
Panchayat: Madhar-lakshya gram
Villages covered: Mahdar mushari, Mahdidih Mushari, Nadiami Mushari,
Panchayat : Aurahi
Villages covered: Batauaa Mushari, Missi Mushahri, Bramhapur Mushari
All these villages fall under mahadalit (mushar samudaya)
The distribution of relief material in this area was carried out by "Gyan Sewa Bharati Sansthan"(GSBS) located at lehariasarai, Darbhanga
GSBS was in touch with Ashok and the request was forwarded to us during the first week of August.
Relief material in the form of clothes & medicines were sent to them on 11th Aug'2009 :The details being,
10 cartons of clothes for children, women & men ; each carton on an approximation contained 60-100 cloth sets.
One carton of Electral ORS sachets.
These materials were sent by Bus to Darbhanga with two member from our team, Srikant Ji & Rajesh.
They met Mr.S.N Jha, Mr Bhupendra, Mr Lalit Jha and along with them left for Biraul by train, once there, they traveled by 'Trekker', rickshaw & boat to reach the identified villages by evening.
They came back to Darbhanga by night & Mr. Jha assured of distribution of the materials to the above mentioned villages within the next few days.
Srikant Ji stayed overnight at Darbhanga & after meeting Mr Jha & receiving a list of medicines needed there came back to Patna.
I have been in touch with Mr Jha regarding the distribution & follow up of the condition there & had requested him to send the photographs of the distribution & details of the materials distributed by mail.
I have not received any mail from Mr Jha till now, & after inquiring about the same, I was assured that the mails & photographs have been sent to Ashok about a week back.
If Ashok has any such mail, I would request him to forward it to me.
We were supposed to leave today for a 4 day camp at Kusheshwarsthan but have postponed it as I have not had any communication with GSBS on the proposed day of distribution & Srikant ji was informed about distribution of first lot of medicine & clothes by people of that area. We are awaiting details regarding proposed distribution for second lot of relief materials
Total expenses for this 3 day trip was around Rs.4000, details of which are available on expenses spreadsheet of this blog.
The medicines sent consisted mainly of Electral Sacahets ( 1000 pc large sachet ,Electral W.H.O formula based) & some B-complex capsule strips.
Mr jha has gone to his village, & I will be going to Kusheshwarsthan in a few days when Mr Jha will be back at his office Srikant Ji too has gone back today.
Our relief effort will continue as it has been for the last month or so.
Thanks for all your help.
Best regards,
~chandan
Note: [Ashok's Response]: Till now I have not received any update from Mr Jha. However here is a mail from Ms. Sushama Singh Ji.
-------------
Given below in brief are the flood relief work undertaken near Kusheshwarsthan.
1. Darbhanga.
Location - Kusheshwarsthan, 40 Km from Darbhanga
Panchayat: Madhar-lakshya gram
Villages covered: Mahdar mushari, Mahdidih Mushari, Nadiami Mushari,
Panchayat : Aurahi
Villages covered: Batauaa Mushari, Missi Mushahri, Bramhapur Mushari
All these villages fall under mahadalit (mushar samudaya)
The distribution of relief material in this area was carried out by "Gyan Sewa Bharati Sansthan"(GSBS) located at lehariasarai, Darbhanga
GSBS was in touch with Ashok and the request was forwarded to us during the first week of August.
Relief material in the form of clothes & medicines were sent to them on 11th Aug'2009 :The details being,
10 cartons of clothes for children, women & men ; each carton on an approximation contained 60-100 cloth sets.
One carton of Electral ORS sachets.
These materials were sent by Bus to Darbhanga with two member from our team, Srikant Ji & Rajesh.
They met Mr.S.N Jha, Mr Bhupendra, Mr Lalit Jha and along with them left for Biraul by train, once there, they traveled by 'Trekker', rickshaw & boat to reach the identified villages by evening.
They came back to Darbhanga by night & Mr. Jha assured of distribution of the materials to the above mentioned villages within the next few days.
Srikant Ji stayed overnight at Darbhanga & after meeting Mr Jha & receiving a list of medicines needed there came back to Patna.
I have been in touch with Mr Jha regarding the distribution & follow up of the condition there & had requested him to send the photographs of the distribution & details of the materials distributed by mail.
I have not received any mail from Mr Jha till now, & after inquiring about the same, I was assured that the mails & photographs have been sent to Ashok about a week back.
If Ashok has any such mail, I would request him to forward it to me.
We were supposed to leave today for a 4 day camp at Kusheshwarsthan but have postponed it as I have not had any communication with GSBS on the proposed day of distribution & Srikant ji was informed about distribution of first lot of medicine & clothes by people of that area. We are awaiting details regarding proposed distribution for second lot of relief materials
Total expenses for this 3 day trip was around Rs.4000, details of which are available on expenses spreadsheet of this blog.
The medicines sent consisted mainly of Electral Sacahets ( 1000 pc large sachet ,Electral W.H.O formula based) & some B-complex capsule strips.
Mr jha has gone to his village, & I will be going to Kusheshwarsthan in a few days when Mr Jha will be back at his office Srikant Ji too has gone back today.
Our relief effort will continue as it has been for the last month or so.
Thanks for all your help.
Best regards,
~chandan
Note: [Ashok's Response]: Till now I have not received any update from Mr Jha. However here is a mail from Ms. Sushama Singh Ji.
-------------
Respected Sir
We extend hearty thanks to you and your esteem team for providing support for the flood victims. Today we have distributed clothes and medicines among the flood victims in Orai block of Muzaffarpur district. Chandan Jee has sent one person to share his hands in distribution of clothes and medicines- His name is Mr. Shree Kant Singh from Patna.We request you to provide more clothes and medicines, so that we could able to cover more people. Some of the clothes were very worse, the people are not accepting it, so we request you to kindly give us good clothes. We need more medicines also.
Awaiting your response Sir
With regards
Ms. Sushama Singh
-------------
-------------
flood relief 2009
Hi
Today we came back from madhubani where we were stuck up for 2 days.. the highway was under water, we wre in bagha block.
The situation is so different..there are no indicators either in media or in peripheral neighborhood about whats happening inside the flood prone areas. Highway frm madhubani to benibad is flooded. we came back via madhepura.
Went to sonepur & gave the relief materials to Tehjashwai Sewa Sansthan. They will be going to aurai to distribute the materials on sun.
We will be picking them up from Sonepur tomorrow morning & going with them for distribution at Aurai.
-chandan
Today we came back from madhubani where we were stuck up for 2 days.. the highway was under water, we wre in bagha block.
The situation is so different..there are no indicators either in media or in peripheral neighborhood about whats happening inside the flood prone areas. Highway frm madhubani to benibad is flooded. we came back via madhepura.
Went to sonepur & gave the relief materials to Tehjashwai Sewa Sansthan. They will be going to aurai to distribute the materials on sun.
We will be picking them up from Sonepur tomorrow morning & going with them for distribution at Aurai.
-chandan
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Sand & Summer at Kosi
The people in Kosi region had witnessed and endured the flood, its aftermath, chilling & damp winter & now scorching sun.
Till about a month back, many families still had hope that things would be normal soon, and courageously hung on with hope & desperation.
Hope has evaporated into the scorching heat & now they are desperate to get away from this Kosi region, their home-their hope.
There was a long queue at Saharsa railway station. It was more than half a kilometer long when we were there last week.
Hundreds & hundreds of people, mostly young or fit enough to travel, mainly men, were waiting for their turn to buy the ticket that is their only hope of surviving or helping their family survive.
They are waiting to buy ticket for travelling to Punjab on Jan shakti Express. This train runs up to Jalandher. Almost everyone is going there.
We had not seen anything like this, except during the initial phase of flood in August- sep 2008 when a lot of people had migrated out in search of livelihood.
Why now? Especially, after they endured harsh conditions in hellish conditions through these last 7 months.
The answer can be seen at the places where the Kosi flowed during the flood last year.
At places where there were lush green fields last year, now there is only sand. Only Sand.
For miles around, there is nothing but sand, loads of it.. dancing in the hot, dry summer winds.
Right from Birpur Basantpur region, east of Birpur court colony, the landscape changes drastically. Here, near Birpur one can see a thin river flowing down south..it’s the Kosi river flowing on its old route..
Travelling to Parmanandpur, Mohanpur, Balbhadrapur, Bisanpur..etc, you cannot ignore the over whelming presence of sand on fringes of horizon.
As you cross the embankment and get in the old (flood ) area, all you see is an ocean of sand, and as we found out later, it is very important to follow some path or have a knowledgeable local person with you, it is easy to get lost..there was no landmark to orient ourselves about one Km downstream.
There is no mode of transport, you have to drag a cycle, mo bikes can’t go in the sand fields; only way of carrying supplies is to physically carry them.
Most of the farmlands down from Birpur towards south & east are in the same condition. This trend decreases as you move further down towards Kumarkhund.
One very obvious problem is identifying the farm borders as there is nothing left to relate its position. In many places, landlords cannot say where their farm starts or ends.
These fields are rendered useless for a minimum of 5-6 years; some farmers say that even if they stay back, what they will do here...There is absolutely nothing that can get them restarted.
The bridge on Bhavanipur - Balua route had collapsed during the flood, and a “Pipa pul” had been constructed there…this saved a lot of trouble getting to Birpur.
Unfortunately, even the Pipa Pul collapsed last week. We were stranded for a long time..& after
We came to know about the cause, we came to Saharsa & took the train t0 Patna. It was here that we witnessed so many people going to Punjab.
We were able to deliver books, clothes & medicines to volunteers, but could not deliver all the materials after our vehicle got stranded near Bishnupur due to collapsed bridge.
It evoked mixed feelings while crossing places where we had been during the flood, amidst a sea of water; now, the same places reveal the scars & sand kosi left behind. It’s difficult to compare which condition was worse, flooded by water or flooded by sand.
Then...
..and now-
Having written all these not so positive observations, some slightly better informations;
there are always people who give you hope & encouragement by their selfless & sustained work.
One of them is Ms Shyamala Rao, from Maanav Utkarsh Samiti, Maharastra. She has been working here all through these seven months. Earlier placed at Bhagalpur, they are now working from Forbasegunj.
They are running Adultl iteracy classes, and are about to finish training 60 women for agarbatti manufacturing.This is the first batch.
They need help in form of medicines, clothes, books & other such material needed for community developement, livelyhood training, child & women health and adult literacy.
The contact details are:
1st floor,
Opp.Kosi gramin bank,
Manikchand road,
Forbaegunj,
Araria.
The ph no is; +919471676979
Email :maanavutkarsh@yahoo.co.in
Shyamala Rao,
Maanav Utkarsh Samiti
Another group who have been working here all through till now is AMURT.
Acharya Kisan Sood is working in Bihar flood relief, & amongst the various works undertaken by them was the cremation of dead bodies & animal carcases.
They are presently running schools & child health centers at;
Bali Village of Shrinagar Panchayat in Gerada Block of Madhepura dist
Phulkaha village in Madhepura dist. This is a old primary school with 70 children. Its hostel has 11 children.
Primary school has been started with 79 children since 26th Jan. '09 in Sakrecha Panchayat of Punpun block
School is being planned in Madhepura town. & Supaul's Pratapganj block from July'09
Children home for girls is running here in Patna in Mainpura & home for boys at Patna is planned to be started by July '09 .
Email; acaryasood@yahoo.com (Ac. Kishan Sood)
A lot of people wanted to sponser child education, they can contact Acharya Ji or contact me for any details regarding these two agencies.
Thanks & regards,
~chandan
+919931763070
Till about a month back, many families still had hope that things would be normal soon, and courageously hung on with hope & desperation.
Hope has evaporated into the scorching heat & now they are desperate to get away from this Kosi region, their home-their hope.
There was a long queue at Saharsa railway station. It was more than half a kilometer long when we were there last week.
Hundreds & hundreds of people, mostly young or fit enough to travel, mainly men, were waiting for their turn to buy the ticket that is their only hope of surviving or helping their family survive.
They are waiting to buy ticket for travelling to Punjab on Jan shakti Express. This train runs up to Jalandher. Almost everyone is going there.
We had not seen anything like this, except during the initial phase of flood in August- sep 2008 when a lot of people had migrated out in search of livelihood.
Why now? Especially, after they endured harsh conditions in hellish conditions through these last 7 months.
The answer can be seen at the places where the Kosi flowed during the flood last year.
At places where there were lush green fields last year, now there is only sand. Only Sand.
For miles around, there is nothing but sand, loads of it.. dancing in the hot, dry summer winds.
Right from Birpur Basantpur region, east of Birpur court colony, the landscape changes drastically. Here, near Birpur one can see a thin river flowing down south..it’s the Kosi river flowing on its old route..
Travelling to Parmanandpur, Mohanpur, Balbhadrapur, Bisanpur..etc, you cannot ignore the over whelming presence of sand on fringes of horizon.
As you cross the embankment and get in the old (flood ) area, all you see is an ocean of sand, and as we found out later, it is very important to follow some path or have a knowledgeable local person with you, it is easy to get lost..there was no landmark to orient ourselves about one Km downstream.
There is no mode of transport, you have to drag a cycle, mo bikes can’t go in the sand fields; only way of carrying supplies is to physically carry them.
Most of the farmlands down from Birpur towards south & east are in the same condition. This trend decreases as you move further down towards Kumarkhund.
One very obvious problem is identifying the farm borders as there is nothing left to relate its position. In many places, landlords cannot say where their farm starts or ends.
These fields are rendered useless for a minimum of 5-6 years; some farmers say that even if they stay back, what they will do here...There is absolutely nothing that can get them restarted.
The bridge on Bhavanipur - Balua route had collapsed during the flood, and a “Pipa pul” had been constructed there…this saved a lot of trouble getting to Birpur.
Unfortunately, even the Pipa Pul collapsed last week. We were stranded for a long time..& after
We came to know about the cause, we came to Saharsa & took the train t0 Patna. It was here that we witnessed so many people going to Punjab.
We were able to deliver books, clothes & medicines to volunteers, but could not deliver all the materials after our vehicle got stranded near Bishnupur due to collapsed bridge.
It evoked mixed feelings while crossing places where we had been during the flood, amidst a sea of water; now, the same places reveal the scars & sand kosi left behind. It’s difficult to compare which condition was worse, flooded by water or flooded by sand.
Having written all these not so positive observations, some slightly better informations;
there are always people who give you hope & encouragement by their selfless & sustained work.
One of them is Ms Shyamala Rao, from Maanav Utkarsh Samiti, Maharastra. She has been working here all through these seven months. Earlier placed at Bhagalpur, they are now working from Forbasegunj.
They are running Adultl iteracy classes, and are about to finish training 60 women for agarbatti manufacturing.This is the first batch.
They need help in form of medicines, clothes, books & other such material needed for community developement, livelyhood training, child & women health and adult literacy.
The contact details are:
1st floor,
Opp.Kosi gramin bank,
Manikchand road,
Forbaegunj,
Araria.
The ph no is; +919471676979
Email :maanavutkarsh@yahoo.co.in
Shyamala Rao,
Maanav Utkarsh Samiti
Another group who have been working here all through till now is AMURT.
Acharya Kisan Sood is working in Bihar flood relief, & amongst the various works undertaken by them was the cremation of dead bodies & animal carcases.
They are presently running schools & child health centers at;
Bali Village of Shrinagar Panchayat in Gerada Block of Madhepura dist
Phulkaha village in Madhepura dist. This is a old primary school with 70 children. Its hostel has 11 children.
Primary school has been started with 79 children since 26th Jan. '09 in Sakrecha Panchayat of Punpun block
School is being planned in Madhepura town. & Supaul's Pratapganj block from July'09
Children home for girls is running here in Patna in Mainpura & home for boys at Patna is planned to be started by July '09 .
Email; acaryasood@yahoo.com (Ac. Kishan Sood)
A lot of people wanted to sponser child education, they can contact Acharya Ji or contact me for any details regarding these two agencies.
Thanks & regards,
~chandan
+919931763070
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
