Bihar Flood Relief - 2008

Kosi revisited 2010

2010-12-12T01:49:00.000-08:00

The basti of Bhanwartola comes under Sinduwari ward (15/16) of Shahpur Panchayat ,Gwalpada block in the district of Madhepura,Bihar. This settlement of around 400 households resides now beside the canal embankment.These people lost everything during the Kosi flood of 2008 and were residing on the embankment for almost two years before their houses could be built, hand pumps installed, buildings repaired.

There has been noticeable change from almost a year back when we were here.At the beginning of east canal embankment, we saw construction work going on the culvert and sluice gates being worked on and replaced. After driving a few kilometers on the embankment we reached Bhanwartola.

The first thing one noticed was that the school building was repaired almost new and about 40- 50 children were having mid day meals in the courtyard. It was a heartening sight..this place is really in the interiors, difficult to reach and it was nice to see Government agencies working here.

The region is still overwhelmingly covered with sand carried by the flood waters,but sparse vegetation has started dotting the landscape. Some farmers here are trying to grow vegetables, mainly 'Parval' as that's suited to this new soil layer. Earlier,the farmers predominantly grew food grains & the yield was nice. They hope a good year of rainfall will slowly bind the soil together & better options for farming will be available. Incidentally, after the floods,rainfall has been scarce in this region

We had been in touch with the ward member Mr.Upendra and he had prepared a list of beneficiaries who needed the blankets most. They were mostly old people, masomaat or widows and people from poorest section of this basti.These people were earlier given a stamped piece of paper bearing their name/representatives name which they submitted to us after they received the blanket.

In all, around 200 blankets ,400 odd set of clothes & 100 set of woolens including shawls, woolen sheets, bed sheets, winter caps, scarves etc for for women & children were given out to the beneficiaries. We had carefully marked & packed each dress set separately for different age groups. We distributed the relief materials to everyone who was there at the site.

Acknowledgment in the form of thumb impression/signature were received on the beneficiaries list.

This effort could be carried out because of people like Ms Bhawna Agrawal(Tempe,AZ) who sent us funds for 150 blankets and by members of our group namely Saroj, Agnivesh & Sunil Singh (US),Divyanshu Ji ,Dilip Ji & Ashok sharma(Bangalore), Anand Guneshwar (Gandhinagar) & Vivek (Singapore). The details are at this link http://bit.ly/gBgWjI

I would specially like to thank Bhawna Ji for taking the initiative and contacting me and offering to help with purchase of blankets for these people, to Ashok for always being there to help and to Amitesh Ji from Prayaas for all the help he has been providing for this initiative for the last three years.

Update : Progress of relief distribution

2010-12-02T05:33:00.000-08:00

Dear friends

This is the update on the progress of relief distribution ;

We will not be going to Madhepura on 26th, as planned earlier. We will be going there between 28th Nov and 2nd December. The delay is caused mainly due to unavailability of commercial vehicles (sumo /mahindra pik up) as all are booked or seized for election duty.Â Most of the vehicles will be relieved by 27th, hence earliest we can leave is 28th.

I have procured ;

Warm children wear new -50 sets, old - around 80 pc
Clothes for women & older children - around 100 sets
Medicines (for de worming,analgesics,eye-drops,antiseptic & anti-fungal creme, neoprene powder,cold medications) of Rs 8k
Blankets & shawls - have around 60 now, will be getting some more

Now, that I have some more time I will be getting more materials for this trip .These are all in addition to of the relief materials we are buying with the funds send by Bhawana Ji. I had placed order for the blankets & should be getting them by tomorrow.

Best regards,

~chandan

Blanket Distribution - Bhanvertola@Madhepura - Update

2010-12-02T05:29:00.000-08:00

Friends,

Thanks for your kind support.

We now have 400 set of cloths, on top of that we bought 150 blankets (We paid Rs120 per blanket), some medicines (like calpol and analdesics). Chandan will start his journey today or tomorrow and handover all these stuffs to people of Bhanvertola village.

I would also like to hightlight that It is not practical for Chandan to visit Bhanvertola frequently. The village is quite far and it takes lot of time and effort to reach there. Hats off to Chandan for putting this brave effort.

If you have still not decided to support this project then I would advice you to hold on your support money till we have our next plan. If you want to support this work you can do so by sending your support money to Prayaas and letting me know about your donation by today.

We need to do this, so as to approximate the items which we can procure. I hope you all understand.

I am attaching some pics which Chandan send to me.

Feel free to send any feedback/questions.

-Ashok

Blanket/Shawl Distribution campaign at Bhanvertola, Madhepura

2010-11-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

Friends,

We have decided to provide blankets/shawls to villagers of bhanvertola, Madhubani.

We are raising funds for this purpose. Please support this cause as the winter is fast approaching and the best thing we can provide to poor people of this remote village at this time is blanket.

We are collecting funds through prayaas (NGO).

See below for details about contribution through Prayaas.

-Ashok

Sending donations through NGO (Prayaas).

http://www.prayaas.org/

Please mention flood relief and your name in remarks section while transferring fund. Mention your name in the comments (will help us track)
Send an email with details to: Amitesh.Bharti@in.bosch.com
make a CC to: ashok.1857@gmail.com

Account in on the name of: M/S Prayaas
Current Account No. : 10447347087
Bank Address : State Bank of India, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Bank Code : 3301IFSC code: SBIN0003301
Routing Number (Swift No.) : SBI NIN BB 147A
MICR number : 560002021

Prayaas Official Address:Mr. Amitesh Bharti,Prayaas(r),
C1-201, GreenWood Regency,Doddakannahalli village,Carmelaram
PO, Adj. Wipro,Sarjapur Road,Bangalore – 560035, India.

If you want to send a cheque/DD:Please send the crossed A/c Payee cheque in favour of,"SBI, A/c Prayaas, Current A/c No. 10447347087"

Donar seeking Tax exemption under section 80G, please donate via PRAYAAS
The certificate & the receipt of your contribution will be dispatched by Prayaas. To get the certificate & the receipt of your contribution, Please email your name and address along with detail of your contribution to Amitesh atAmitesh.Bharti@in.bosch.com
make a CC to: ashok.1857@gmail.com

Kosi revisited

2009-12-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

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

Blanket distribution ~Kosi flood victims

2009-12-26T11:18:00.000-08:00

We reached the Bhanwartola around 5am & were received by the village ward member who then guided us to this settlement.

The only source of warmth for these people are blankets & small bonfire from dry vegetation. They don't have permanent shelter & live under rough thatched shelters & plastic sheet covers.

Its kind of difficult when all the people around coverage on the vehicle to get blankets, but after the initial rush things settle down and distribution is done according to the list of beneficiaries handed over to us by the ward member.

Blanket distribution

2009-12-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

It was heartening to see that the blankets & warm clothes for women & children which we had distributed last year had given them some warmth. Although many of these clothes were in tatters, it had helped them see through last winter. In fact the only warm clothes they have were the ones given by us last year. No one from any other relief agency have been here.

It gives a bit of satisfaction to see & hear that our small but continued effort has helped these very poor people, isolated deep inside the Kosi devastation area

Its the children out here who break your heart. Barefoot, with just a pair of shorts or shirt, they prance around excited,inquisitive and smiling, always. Many of them have suffered a lot, infected with diereses, weak from malnutrition & confused about their future. Despite all this, their cute little faces beam up every time you talk to them. Its amazing, how tough they have become in at small age. Its humbling.

Residents of Bhanwartola,Madhepura,

2009-12-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

Flood update: Bharathua embankment, Aurai, Muzaffarpur

2009-08-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-30T18:19:00.001-07:00

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.
-------------

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

2009-08-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

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

Sand & Summer at Kosi

2009-04-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

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

Infrastructure after the flood

2009-03-25T02:55:00.000-07:00

Damage to infrastructure is telling & widespread. These pictures are from our
February trip to Chatapur,Maheshkut,Baluaghat & beyond.

This is what a wayward body of water can do to masonry & RCC structures,what chances
of survival would a simple village dwelling have against this onslaught.

People related the thundering sounds they heard, and how everything shook violently
all evening and then the water came, it looked like simmering silvery sea of water,
and when it hit the villages, people dint know what to do. It was terrifying and
disorienting..they dint know which direction to go. Everything was going wrong..
most of the villagers found safety atop few brick mortar houses with rcc roof.

In fact those few cement houses that almost all villages have was the Noah's Arc
that saved a lot of people, specially women and children.

They hung in there till relief boats came; SSB, ITBP,Navy...they braved immense
danger and rescued those who were stranded.

They are all brave hearts.. those who rescued them & those who were rescued.

The base of this hand pump or "chapa-kal" is above 8 feet over the existing water

body. Before the floods ripped through this village, it would have been barely a
feet above the ground, and this was a field. Now, its a stagnant body of water.

Six months after the flood, Kosi is still haunting these areas. These people need
lot of help...and although the Bihar Government/NGO's are working hard to help &
restore normality out in this region, the spread and the intensity of destruction
is just overwhelming.

We are still hanging around, doing what we can,with what we have. We are also trying to work out how best we can help some children get sustained quality primary education.

~chandan

+919204757999

Relief distribution at Rani patti

2009-02-19T12:46:00.001-08:00

We were able to distribute around 210 woolen blankets at Ranipatti, Raghunathpur panchayat ( Murligunj) on 12-15 Feb 2008. Earlier last week we (Feb-2-4) we had distributed some blankets here along with areas near Bhawartola. We also distributed clothes, new & old to people in these areas.

Many of these places in Singhwara, Bhawner tola or Ranipatti cant still be reached by boat or vehicle; we used to go there & distribute coupons for blankets & clothes depending on how much stock we had.

It was difficult not to be able to distribute materials to all people in the village, so we try to find the weakest & most deprived people and gave them coupons. It feels horrible doing so.. all the people are more or less in the same boat & need the relief blankets & clothes.

After so much time out here, you can almost make out the condition of the village before you enter it...you can sense the gloom before you enter a badly suffered village.

Inside, everyone wants some relief. There is no pandemonium, though; they understand that all of them will not get relief material this time and line up accordingly.

Its remarkable.

These people have lived together amidst sorrow & pain for so long, cut away from the world, its almost like they all think the same way..like communal thinking .There is also lot unstated mutual understanding and admiration for one another for having made it through.

A day after coupon distribution, the come to the nearest point where we can bring our vehicle ; and the relief is distributed to the coupon holders. At places where its very difficult for people to come out of the villages, we try & distribute relief materials in the villages.

At places, to reach a badly hit village, we have to go through other villages which were not so badly damaged, or have had already received relief from other agencies. It is difficult not to give any relief material to them & go to villages ahead to distribute the same, in such cases, we generally use the coupon for distribution.

Village Ratanpatti,Raghunathpur Panchayat, Murligunj, Feb 14- 15 2009.

Flood relief.. last few destinations

2009-02-19T11:15:00.001-08:00

The last of blankets were distributed in Supaul & Madhepura ditricts of flood ravaged Kosi region. We always wanted to camp at Chatapur and do relief work around the area..twice already we had been there but couldn't go beyond 10 km of Chatapur.

This time Kosi had been moved back to its original path and many villages were now accessible by two wheelers. We took the vehicle as far as we could, borrowed motorbikes and bicycles & went in to villages which were cut off for the longest & were the farthest that we had been.

The pictures are from our last 3 relief distributions, all undertaken in last three weeks. The damage to the infrastructure is telling, & it looks more like a war zone at places. At other places, everything is so quiet that you can hear your heartbeat.

Update: 6 Feb 2009

2009-02-08T07:24:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

We have distributed blankets & clothes at Birpur (4 km from Kosi barrage) today and are returning to Ghospur where we will spend the night. Tomorrow, we will do distributions at Lakshmania & Balua villages where coupon for the same has already been distributed today by Ashok Ji, who is from Dr.Mishra's family.

We will move in to Chatapur day after tomorrow. There is still problems taking a four wheeler there but most of the interior places can be reached by two wheeler.

We didnt have much relief material with us, but we distributed around 200 blankets and 250 dress sets for children which we had in our vehicle, equally at these three places. Ashok Mishra Ji, from Balua has been helping us in local distribution of coupons and subsequent delivery of relief materials.

Anubha Ji, these 250 dresses were the last of 800 dresses send in two consignments from Jalandhar. Thanks a lot.

The cold weather in these areas is slowly wearing off, and more people can be seen in the open..and with Kosi flowing back in its course, things look brighter.

Thanks to all of you who have worked for the Kosi flood relief.

Thanks & regards,
chandan
+91 993 1763 070

Its spring.

2009-02-01T07:31:00.000-08:00

As one drives around Madhepura and moves ahead towards north, the countryside comes alive with the lazy sunshine of late winter mornings. Its lush green around with lots of marigold blooming
in the diffused sunlight. Its hard to believe that a river flowed over this area a few months back. Its been an amazing journey.. right through monsoons & the winter.Its been a tough time for everyone in this region..Many have lost everything. Yet, life goes on..as a routine.And so does nature.

With the renegade river brought back on its old course, water level is ebbing away quickly..and
there is hope in the air. Expectancy.. for a new, better period ahead.
Its the beginning of spring,rebirth is in the air.

Beneficiaries from the villages (Bhawnertola & Singhwara) being given the relief materials (warm clothes /blankets).

It is painful to see people still suffering from massive floods that started almost five months back. These are the people at the bottom of the relief rope,too weak to go to big relief centers, too far n deep inside the Kosi labyrinth to be touched by relief agencies working here earlier. With the decrease in water level, some villages can be reached now by two wheeler. These people are from Bhawner tola & Singhwara, amongst a cluster of villages still cut off for major disaster relief.

Its the resilience & raw courage of these down to earth folks that has carried them through five months of water & cold damp surroundings.

The community hung around each other like never before..they helped each other with all they had..its amazing. Their attitude has been a revelation

for many of us. They have won their lives back by mentally not allowing even the thought of death enter their head; physically they are tattered...they had no control over what was happening around them..but mentally, they never gave away hope. Hope has carried them through this living hell.

Now, as our Government tries to give them whatall it has, lets hope that their life on the other side of this Kosi experiance is better, much better than what they perceive.

Flood relief: Bhawer tola & Singhwari Village,Madhepura

2009-02-01T05:41:00.000-08:00

Flood relief ; Blankets were distributed to beneficiaries from Bhanwertola & Singhwari villages,Gwalpada Madhepura. The coupons for distribution had been distributed one day earlier & the beneficiaries came and collected the blankets,clothes from us at Dighi Panchayat.

These two villages were highlighted by the media recently, and the condition of the villagers at these places were indeed bad. Now, with the Kosi flowing back on the original route and the breach plugged and patched, water flowing through the villages have stopped,and we hope traversable roads to places like these will be usable soon. This is good news for many villages which are still difficult to reach.

Beneficiaries with coupons come to distribution points & collect their relief material. This little arrangement has been pretty effective
in cutting down the chaos and getting the distribution done smoothly & swiftly.

Flood relief: Bhawer tola & Singhwari Village,Madhepura

2009-02-01T05:11:00.000-08:00

The roads which were washed away during the flood, cutting clusters of villages marooned by water, are being repaired with full gusto. Whatever materials are available locally,are getting used to restore the basic road network.

Blanket coupons were distributed at Bhawer tola for residents of Bhawartola & Singhwari villages.

Flood relief: Bhawer tola & Singhwari Village,Madhepura

2009-02-01T05:04:00.000-08:00

People come & que up early at the distribution site. We try to distribute the relief materials quickly as they have to go to their villages.

Flood relief, Gwalpada

2009-02-01T03:01:00.000-08:00

Update: 28 Jan 2009

2009-01-28T21:23:00.000-08:00

It must be one of the better news that all people & organization connected in flood relief have heard lately.

The Kosi is back on course, back where it belonged.

This news comes because of the untiring hard work of engineers from Govt.of Bihar, from Vashistha construction, from other agencies who were working on this 24x7

The people of Nepal & Bihar, who worked (laborers,contractors,engineers & all others) under tough weather conditions for close to 9 weeks have made it possible.

The repair work was very tough, and after the partial collapse of coffer dam 3 earlier this month, things looked a bit uncertain.

The whole team has done well to bring Kosi back & that is really good work; Now, they have to make sure that the breach is totally repaired and that vigil is maintained all through the embankments & dredging & maintenance is undertaken regularly.

We are at Dighi Panchayat, near Biharigunj.

We have been distributing warm clothes & blankets in Koriapatti & Bhawartola villages. The people from Bhawaertola will be coming to dighi to get the blankets tomorrow afternoon.

We cannot do distribution of blankets inside these villages as they are still not reachable by 4 wheeler, & also because crowds swell to unmanageable size during distribution.

We have given woolen shawl, children clothes earlier today( 60 families) when we were there to distribute the coupons for blanket distribution.

Water level went down by about a feet yesterday & we hope to get a clear traversable road to this cluster of villages shortly.

We will be here till 31st Jan i.e Saraswati Puja.

We have got some educative kits for small children which we shall be distributing on 30/31st Jan.

By Chandan.

They need help. Sustained help

2009-01-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

The good news last week was that the the third & the last coffer dam was completed, and it was a big relief as that meant that work could be started on retracing the mainstream Kosi flow to its original path.

That didn't last long as a portion of the newly constructed coffer dam # 3 collapsed the next day due to excessive water pressure around it.

Three coffer dams had been constructed to change the river flow towards the pilot channel.Discharge of water went up & as more n more water gushed out, pushing the water level up..people got scared. Many thought its the flood all over again.

Thankfully, kosi discharge during this period is low & steps are being taken to rectify the damage.

This incident reinforces the fact that a lot of work has to done within the next 70- 80 days, and that pushing things in the wake of meeting deadlines can backfire & do more damage than good.

Its a very difficult task that engineers out there are undertaking, and we hope that Nepal Govt & Indian govt. provides all possible help to ensure that the breach repair is completed before end of March 2009.

During the last week, we have distributed blankets,dresses for children & clothing sets to 600 odd families residing in really difficult areas. Lots more is needed out here..its cold, wet & windy.

We went to Bhavara tola village in Gwalpada which is still cut off; After initial help by the govt. earlier last month, not much has been done. We will be going there again and give relief materials to 200 odd families residing there.

The damage to these villages is immense. In the picture you can see a hand punp which is about 7-8 feet above the ground level. This hand pump was on ground level before the strong currents of Kosi eroded everything around, leaving a 8-10 feet deep channel right through the village.

As this is the only source of potable water, the ingenious inhabitants have made a bamboo platform/ bridge to reach the hand pump.

Blankets are lifeline; they get soggy by dew at night ..and are dried in the daytime. If the sun fails to show up..they sleep with soggy blankets. It will be tragic if it rains, all they will have is wet blanket to keep them warm.

Many of these huts are on the canal where the residents of neighbouring village have taken shelter.They are raised to keep then safe from a surge in water level, It also saves them from insects and reptiles & provides some warmth compared to cold wet soil n sand of the canal.

Only way you can reach here crossing the first breach by boat or wading through the water and walking two-three hours. Along the way, we found solitary dwellings made from washed away bamboo, branches of fallen trees & leaves. They survive on next to nothing nothing..and fight this unforgiving cold by sheer will power.

I shudder to think what will happen to them if it rains or if there is rise of even a feet of water.

This is all that they have, handful of rice & a hole in the ground to burn twigs & leafs ..but they hang on.. hope to live on..what else can they do. Its very difficult to reach here..so no one comes here..& they cant go out. They survive on some rice & wild pods/ saag (cooked leaves of wild plants)

There is pain & suffering everywhere you look; almost everyone has lost something or someone.

They need help. Sustained help.

~chandan
+91 9931763070

Relief materials from Sri Uma Shankar Pandey

2009-01-13T15:28:00.001-08:00

We have received six cartons of old clothes for flood relief distribution , sent by Sri.Uma Shankar Pandey, Hella India lighting Ltd (IAM), Udyog Vihar Phase 5, Gurgaon, Haryana -16

Thanks a lot Uma Shanker Ji; it gives us great hope and happiness to see that people are still sending relief to the flood victims even after four months of the disaster.

Thanks a lot on behalf of the whole team.

God bless you.

Thanks & regards.,

~chandan
+91 99317 63070

2009-01-13T15:02:00.001-08:00

Panchayat bhavan, though washed away partially, is still functional and that has been a big help to the locals.

This is the bridge that connects this panchayat to the main road. One can cross it by foot or cautiously by mobike. Four wheelers are a taboo. It creaks when you cross it, its unnerving. Its crazy.. the guy in the middle can sink in any time. The locals, though, have got used to
these minor irritations as compared to the disheartening loss of property and life around here.

Kolhaypatti Dumaria Panchayat

2009-01-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

Kolhaya patti Panchayat is near Dighi panchayat where the last blanket distribution had been done. Distribution of blankets in Kolhayapatti panchayat was undertaken day before yesterday. 260 blankets were given to people who could not be given the same during our last trip here.

Coupons are personally distributed to households which are in extremely bad condition. This is done by team members who go to the affected villages in advance. They are given blankets /warm clothing when they come to camp & the coupon is retrieved with a thumb impression or signature of the beneficiary.

This village is in shambles; stagnant water, broken bridges & roads.. deep erosion of fertile farmlands... the damage is unbelievable.

This was a plain farm area; Kosi flowed right through this village, under scouring &destroying many buildings. These villages look like a war zone.

Updates from Gwalpada

2009-01-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

First relief consignment 2009.

2009-01-06T11:43:00.000-08:00

Its been some time since I was last here; and the news is that the ground situation is more or less the same as it was last week of last year.

The good news though, is that the Bihar Govt. has restarted its relief package all over again, i.e, it is providing relief money and food for the second time to the flood victims all over again. It is also providing blankets and warm clothing. Good or bad press, I feel this gesture by the govt. is appriciable.

Those of us who have worked out here, or are working here..know what a logistical nightmare it is to even reach the victims, leave alone carrying the relief material & undertaking the distribution. Weather, infrastructure,extreme reactions from distraught flood victims ..these are some of the factors that make these efforts even more difficult.

We still hear of areas not yet touched, of miseries faced by a large helpless population.. and sadly that will stay more or less the same. But we can take heart because the weather will improve, the Govt aid will become more accessible and HOPEFULLY the Kusaha breach will be plugged before more damage can be done.

Our CM, Mr.Nitish Kumar is supposed to be at Kusaha on 9th Jan, I hope he makes sure that Kosi is redirected to the old path before it starts to swell again. If he can do that, the gratitude of millions affected directly or indirectly in this flood will tide him over any political tsunamis he may face for a long long time.

Inside the kosi belt, deep inside the labyrinth of broken roads and dis shelved villages; at places where people dont know for sure whether Bihar is a district, a state or a country; where life starts and sets with the Sun...people believe that their "Sarkar'" , their "Raja" will come & save them from Kosi's fury. With lump in my throat, I hope that their belief is true.These are simple folks with pure soul and a good heart. How long can God defy them.

Back on terra firma, we have received about 840 new blankets and old woolen clothes & we start distribution from today. There is no wrap up date for us..we are still working & will keep on doing so till we run out of relief materials.

We will start with Koriapatti (East) Panchayat(Trivenigunj prakhand) tomorrow & move up towards Birpur & Chatapur. Our base will be at Dighi Panchayat.

Serena, thanks for the tarpaulin sheets you sent earlier.. one sheet is giving shelter to about 10 people in this cold damp foggy weather.

Thanks a lot for your good wishes & prayers, they have helped us immensely to tide over difficult periods of flood relief work.

Best wishes for a fruitful year ahead.

God bless you all.

ps; For self help groups in and around Trivenigunj,Pratapgunj & Birpur; if you need moderate quantity of clothing for men ,womem & children, kindly sms/call us on 0612 6450916 & leave a message. We have some stock of clean, matched & packed sets of clothing of different sizes.

~chandan
+91 9931763070

Hope is dope

2008-12-28T00:18:00.000-08:00

All the children who were between 1-6 years were given new set of clothes(pullover & pant). Many of these children have a lost expression ..as if things have happened too fast, one after another. These children are really sweet..they share their parents /siblings pain or happiness.

Most of them are back to their ' children' mode when they are playing with other kids. Only when their parents pick them up to move on, they feel fear or rather a resigned fear for 'fear'.
Most of the time their parent pick them up or ask them to come along ..its because they have to go to a relief center for help. Its always a long trek, hungry journey on foot & on boat to reach the relief center.

Earlier, when the flood was at its peak.. it must have been their parents who would have carried them from place to place, chasing safe places.
These are the tough little winners of life.

This old timer lost everything. Very painful to look into his eyes....they tell a sad tale..whats worse..it seems he has lost hope. Out here hope is dope. Its hope that numbs your pain and pushes you to keep on walking..despite all the pain.

A handicapped child, his fingers were joined at birth..they are more like feet in appearance. He is pretty good at everything he does.. almost at par with those who have healthy hands.

" I had the blues
'cause I had no shoes ;
Until, upon the street
I saw a kid who had no feet "

2008-12-27T23:59:00.000-08:00

Three generations

2008-12-27T23:52:00.000-08:00

Three generations...all share each others pain & helplessness. But how can you tell a child about
good things in life, about GoD, about humanity.. whey they have already lived through the miseries me may take life long to experience.

Confusion ? Clarity of illusion ? Defiance ? Pain ? Anger ? WHAT ?

Whats this little girl thinking; very difficult to put words to these expressions. They break your heart man. Why these little children ? So much pain, suffering at this tender age.

Flood relief~ Gwalpada, Murligunj

2008-12-27T23:25:00.000-08:00

After waiting for what would have seemed like eternity..the beneficiaries got their relief materials. We distributed 230 blankets before we had ho pack up and leave because of some local problem.

But, we were back next day & carried out with our distributions. These people were so well behaved and patient...they just kept on waiting..until redistribution started.

Dighi/Gwalpada relief distributions

2008-12-27T23:15:00.000-08:00

Distribution of blankets at Gwalpada was done mainly for old citizens, widows & handicapped people.

My camera was stuck ..so could not zoom out..but that helped actually, the expressions on the face of beneficiaries & their body language that tells a lot about what they have been through, what they expect & how they feel.

Distribution near Birpur

2008-12-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

Birpur is a small town almost on the Indo-Nepal border (5 km east of Mahendra Rajmarg H01,Nepal) and in very close vicinity of Kusaha where the breach took place. It was in the line of new breakaway Kosi as it charted the course of least resistance ..tearing apart everything that came in its way.

We always wanted to do work at Birpur ,Chatapur & adjoining areas where the damage is unbelievably raw till date. It is still very difficult to undertake relief work in this area.

Relief work was undertaken at Balua Bisdhanpur with the help of local volunteers & members of AMURT who have been working with us in distributing blankets and other warm clothing for the distressed population in the interiors of this region.

It was one of our toughest relief trips in these areas. We travelled in mini truck close to 1000 km on rough roads..loaded with 600 blankets, 400 sets of clothes for small children, shawls, medicines et all.

Crammed in space of about 8 x 6 feet, with all these materials , Guneshwarji & Srikant ji spent nights parked at broken culverts & river banks; totally cut off from everything.

To their credit, they did carry out what was charted for them. They personally distributed more than 1200 KG of relief materials in this area .

It is always a learning experiance to work with passionate people whose only objective is to help the poor.

The heart of a volunteer can never be defeated,they say.

And that works so well out here.

Last fortnight was tough; we had a crash ,we lost the vehicle, driver ran off,we got ripped, it was cold & lonely..so lonely.What happened in Mumbai really ate deep into me..and for the first time in four months..I felt like quitting.

Guneshwar called me from Gujrat and said he was coming down for flood relief work for a week.

And then Srikant Ji told me that the work we are doing cannot be done if one does not have a deep conviction for the cause. No amount of money can bring in the kind of commitment thats needed to

a long sustained lonely relief effort like this.

That helped a lot; really, I coudnt have asked for a better team than this. Instead of running away from the prolonged discomfort zone ( as many have), these guys actually wanted more of it !

So, here we go again. No deadlines,no cutoff dates.. we will work as long as it takes.

Thank you Guneshwar for all the help and for sharing our burden. At the railway station, I saw a proud father..and he should be. We are all very proud of you.

As promised, we will be going back to Birpur, to finish what was started by you.

Be well & God bless you.

~chandan

+919931763070

Distribution at Koriapatti Panchayat

2008-12-16T15:50:00.000-08:00

Blanket Distribution to the handicapped beneficiaries

2008-12-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

Blanket & shawl distribution~Koriapatti/Gwalpada

2008-12-16T15:42:00.000-08:00

Blanket distribution ~Gwalpada

2008-12-16T15:34:00.000-08:00

Update from Ground Zero

2008-12-14T00:28:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

As you may be aware, Guneshwar Ji has come to Patna to help with the flood relief work. Srikant ji, who has been working with us from the onset, and was slightly hurt in a mishap, had come back to patna yesterday night.Today morning, 600 blankets, 300 new woolen dress set for children, clothes for villagers and other relief materials were sent to Pratapgunj. Guneshwar Ji & Srikant Ji have gone with the materials on a mini truck. The progress is difficult as driving is really taxing.
Presently(9.30 pm),they are at a line hotel near Baidnathpur, 40 KM away from the camp. The visibility is down to about 20 feet because of fog and I have requested them to stay put at the line hotel till daylightDistribution will be done tomorrow at Gwalpada & Pratapgunj. If there are any further delays, Guneshwar Ji & Srikant Ji will decide the distribution accordingly.

I cant thank Guneshwar Ji enough; he came y'day from Gujrat, went to donate blood at Mahavir Cancer hospital, and left today for what I think will be a three days camp.Tells you a lot about the passion that he has for weak, downtrodden and distressed people.And thanks to all of you; it just could not have been possible without your continued & unequivocal support.

Thanks & regards,
`chandan
+919931763070
www.biharfloodrelief2008.blogspot.com
ps ; during last month or so we have distributed around 1300 blankets, apart form other relief materials.

Pratapgunj & beyond..

2008-12-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

Pratapgunj

2008-12-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

Distribution of woolen clothes and shawl for women and children was undertaken at Tokana village. It is one of the closest villages which can be reached by boat (3km away from Pratapgunj). Lots of aadivasi families live in these areas and are in need of warm clothes. We distributed 200 sets of warm clothes for children and 100 woolen shawls in this village. Earlier we had distributed 300 blankets to people from this area who collected the same from Pratapgunj camp.

It gets dark around 4.30- 5.00 pm in these areas, and its getting colder by each passing day.

Some of these poor children do not have even basic clothes..& most of them have no woolens.
No house, no clothes,no blankets ...and around three months of meagre food & shelter. They are hanging on ..hope is all that's keeping them afloat.

Navigating back to base camp (Pratapgunj) in almost total darkness. Reassuring thing is that the river is not deep, although at places there is strong current . Lots of bugs too.

Pratapgunj

2008-12-03T12:31:00.000-08:00

Blanket distribution- Pratapgunj

Acknowledgement signature or thumb impression of beneficiaries helps us map the requirement chart of the area. Beneficiaries names, along with their address & relief materials accepted or needed help us in identifying households where more relief is needed.

Pratapgunj

2008-12-03T12:13:00.000-08:00

Blanket distribution, Daria Ashram, Pratapgunj

Pratapgunj

2008-12-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Many villages east of Pratapgunj are accessible only by boat. The biggest problem is transporting relief materials to these places.
Here, we take relief materials (Blankets,woolen clothes,medicine, baby food) by small boats from Pratapgunj to Tokana

This packet containing baby food was sent to us about a month back by a student of Indus School Bangalore, and was lost during our relief effort at Kumarkhund on a boat. As luck would have it,while meeting volunteers at Madhepura en route to Pratapgunj, a boatman came to us and gave this packet to us. He had kept it safe for about a month, knowing that these were for flood victims. We couldn't thank him enough as it had baby food which was needed at Pratapgunj. Tells you a lot about these wonderful people who have helped us for more than three months now. Heart warming stuff.

Acharya Ji & Srikant Ji had gone ahead of us and distributed the coupons; they have all been very helpful.. each & every time we needed them, they were ready and willing..

We are boating in a field...imagine that ! The new kosi has lost weight but still very much present in these areas.

Update from Pratapgunj & Chatapur

2008-11-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

We are now moving up to Pratapgunj, we haven't decided the route to be taken ( via Purnea or via Nepal) as we are waiting for confirmation from 9 volunteers who have gone in.This area (Pratapgunj & Chatapur) is the worst affected flood area.
There has been significant improvement in these areas as they are right in the middle of Kosi flow, nearest to Kusaha breach. The water current is still very bad and the villages which suffered the largest causality are in these two blocks.We have been asked to bring 15 life jackets for the volunteers and medicines for flood victims who are still trapped in there.We will be carrying the blankets,shawls and some medicines; but we do not know how we will go inside in the core area. No boats can go in because of very high current, & roads have been swept clean. But, as nine AMURT volunteers have already made it inside and connected with some villages there.. we are going in too, come what may.PFB the list of medicines, if someone can help us with these.. it would be a big help.

As of now, I still keep blankets & woolens as the most important relief materials, so we cannot fund these medicines from what we have.But if someone approaches us or wants to chip in, they can help in purchase of these medicines. These can be sent directly to us or to AMURT office. They can also be sent directly to Pratapgunj camp. I can provide addresses & phone no's should someone need them.
The details of the medicine required for use in Pratapganj and Chatapur blocks. We need both for people & domestic cattle.

All opathic medicines needed are: ORS Sachet
Cifron CT tab.
Ornof O tab.
Metron tab. 400mg
Roxid (150mg) & 50mg
Perinorm tab & syrup
Deriphyllin Amp
Effcorlin (100mg) vial
Crocin tab 500mg, 250mg
Tminic syrup
Polybion syrup
Cobadex
Syphradyn
Combiflam tab, syrup
Ofas syrup, tab
Ofal M syrup
Taxim 'o' tab & syrup
Ordem tab & syrup
Neosporin Powder
Bactroban ointment
Surfaz ointment
Clop GM ointment
Omez cap 20mg
Pantop 40mg tab
Corex 'D' syrup
Grillinctus syrup
Phenyl bottles
Sinarest tab, syrup
Cetriz 10mg tab, syrup
Norflox Tz tab
Benocide forte
Hetrazan tab
Tab. Chloroquinine
Tab. Ranitidine
Tab. Omexozole
For the domesticated animals the medicines needed are
1. Two types of vaccines - HS & BQ
2. Deworming medicine - Albenzazole bolus 3gm, 1.5gm, 500mg
3. Fungal infection - betadine liquid & Lorexen cream
4. Terramycine Bolus 500mg

Thanks & regards,
`chandan
+919931763070
http://www.biharfloodrelief2008.blogspot.com/

PS: Anubha Ji, I could not collect woolen clothes from your place y'day. I will get it collected today. Thank you all for putting in so much time, effort and money for flood relief.

Boats are the lifeline

2008-11-18T15:31:00.000-08:00

This bridge connects Madhepura to Kumarkhand. During flood, spans of bridge just sank down, totally cutting off areas east of Madhepura. Another bridge, called loha pool was also damaged, but has been repaired by the Army. Although this reduces boat ride by 5-6 Km, one still has to use boats twice before one reaches to Ranigunj.

The country boats are fitted with a 5 kva diesel engine(generally used for water pumps) which drives the propellor. The boat ride is scary..they are overloaded and carry everything from cows to bikes. You have to stand up like in bus or metro. Difference is there is nothing to hold onto execpt thin air. No wonder many mishaps and fatalities are reported.

Our relief material(blankets,woolens,cerelac,biscuits,medecines,clothes) get across the river in three trips.

And engine breaking down is common..good thing is that these sailors are always able to repair them.

All the woolen clothes,caps & scarves were bought by donations by Ms Anubha Prasad (Del) & Kumar Gautam(USA)

210 woolen blankets were bought by funds given byMr. Prashant Pandey (Pune)

The bridge on river Kosi

2008-11-18T15:23:00.000-08:00

The bridges on old Kosi route hung on as the river wreaked havoc around them. But the new course that Kosi took really did serious damage. We have not yet bridged the gaping holes kosi eroded on National highways, state highways,bridges and culverts..almost every thing that came in its way.

To cross Kosi, one either had to cross it at Kosi barrage in Nepal, or way down near Naugachia where the river met Ganges.

Boats were & still are the only conveyance inside the labyrinth of broken roads and washed away bridges. They carry everything, man, animal, motorbikes and the flood relief materials. These boatmen are very skilled,

and very informative. If you want info about any area in and around Kosi, their network can pinpoint the location.They also tell you what happened, whats happening and whats gonna happen if this speed of "reconstruction" is continued. They are big source of information around these areas and if you chat them up, you will realize that they are smart & very intelligent.

Hauling relief materials from Balua dhar embankment to Kumarkhand block.

Kumarkhand

2008-11-18T15:18:00.000-08:00

We distributed 320 blankets in Murligunj & Kumarkhand prakhand. The distribution was carried out till late evening & started again early next morning.

We give coupons to the beneficiaries who fill in their details & give it back it when they get the blanket. The list of beneficiaries comes from common names mentioned in lists of names provided by Sarpanch, Aanganwadi workers and AMURT volunteers. This way we give our limited supplies to the ones who need it most. Elderly women and men first, then other beneficiaries on the list.

Orderly distribution is always a challenge. People keep on coming, and relief materials ultimately run out.Sometimes there is anguish, sometimes anger. We have had our experiences from two bad days at Darfga bandh relief in Trivenigunj. Now, we have a better mechanism for distribution and a team of volunteers, sarpanch & AMURT volunteers(whenever possible) works together.

Blankets & woolen clothes were distributed to beneficiaries from Jorgavn,Parwa,Rampur,Ranipatti (Murligunj) and Rahta (Kumarkhand)

Acharya jee, along with Amarnath Ji helped us distribute around 32o blankets in these areas.

Kumarkhand

2008-11-18T15:13:00.000-08:00

Our camp site for the night, these two gentlemen were awake almost all night. Food was provided courtesy Amarnath Ji. You know, despite all the problems most of the people out there are carrying on life as normal. They were never tired, never hinted any frustration when we had goofed up the loading of materials at Baluadhar & as a consiquence had to go thrice cross the river.
Its a different life altogether, they survive on each others strengths, share each other sorrow and work as a team. The children get so happy with so little and they genuinely seemed happy.
I hope and pray that God help them go through this winter, and that their miseries end soon.

Amarnath Ji had tough time with ladies who woudnt budge and kept crowding on him.

This old lady walked from ward 4, about 4-5 km away, to come and collect blanket and cap
for her family members who were apparently not well. She is so frail.. and yet .. amazing people these. Beautiful people. Warm people. Friendly people.

Kumarkhand

2008-11-18T15:11:00.000-08:00

These children were waiting for us very eagerly as someone had told them that we are bringing biscuits. We reached late & we were not carrying biscuits as blankets had taken all space.
Felt real bad.
We gave them soft colorful woolen caps, slacks and sweaters. To make sure that some children do not comeback and Que up again, we marked a cross with red marker on their palm.

All the children got woolen caps; infants and really small children were given woolen top,slacks,socks & cap,

The condition in these villages are very bad. What you see below is a hand pump, with thick crust of decomposed vegetation and algae over 6-8 inch water.
The villages are saturated with stale water, almost all hand pumps are around 30-40 feet deep.
Many of these hand pumps would be contaminated.
But they are the only source of water, as wells are totally polluted and all lakes or pokhars are in bad shape.

Although this small woven bamboo bridge looks frail, they are pretty strong, these 'chachri' are used in many places where the river is still flowing through.

Kumarkhand

2008-11-18T15:03:00.000-08:00

These are the scenes of villages where people have come back to from relief camps. Broken houses,decay,insects,dirty water..all things bad. Nothing left in their dwelling,
The government has given them one quintal food grains(rice & wheat) and INR 2250 for families which have a student (INR 1200 for education)

Distributing woolen caps to children

Ranigunj, Kumarkhand

2008-11-18T14:59:00.000-08:00

The concrete slab of the roof dangles down, held by some reinforcement bars. This house
probably gave refuge to hundreds of people before the high current of Kosi eroded its foundation and hollowed up the underlay.

A lot of small breaches on the highway has been temporarily repaired now as most of the roads are visible and are above water level. But still, road connectivity in this area is only about 50 %.

I hope authorities do something about the way these boats ply.These boats have been a lifeline all throughout these 3 months. Overcrowding and ignoring govt.guidelines for safety has led to a lot of accidents.

Bihar Flood relief contribution from Mindteck

2008-11-18T02:55:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

We are pleased to inform that Mindteck (India) www.mindteck.com along with their employees has come forward to help the people affected by Bihar flood.Mindteck India's employees have contributed Rs. 41,101 (forty one thousand one hundred one rupees) and same ammount has been contributed by the management of Mindteck India. Total ammount conributed by them is Rs. 82,202 (Eighty two thousand two hundred two ruppes). We have received two cheques on the name of Prayass. Prayaas is our NGO partner through which we are continuing the flood relief activity in Bihar along with Chandan at Patna. This is a great gesture from employees and management of Mindteck India. We thank them on behalf of people of Bihar. This is really a great help towards the rehabilation of people affected by Kosi Flood.

We keep updating the flood relief activity at our blog

http://www.biharfloodrelief2008.blogspot.com/

PS: Amar Jamadhiar, one of our group moderator works for Mindteck and he was very instrumental in collecting this fund.

I have attached a photo which was sent by Mindteck's HR while handing over cheque to me.

Thanks

Sarvesh

Day 86

2008-11-13T13:42:00.001-08:00

One thing that almost everyone (who hav worked out here for flood relief) would have witnessed is the humility, courage & benignity of the flood victims. These are remarkable social qualities, and they are consistent & unfaltering even in the midst of daunting conditions which has prevailed here for almost three months now.

Even a small insignificant help is greeted by a warm smile and genuine gratitude. If we have nothing to offer or we have exhausted our supplies..the disappointment is never overtly made obvious or rude; just a smile, a nod or sometimes a slightly sarcastic take on their own luck.

They just want to go on with life, and hope that things get better. Resigned to fate maybe, but most of them have accepted this and they blame no one for this.

When you sit to talk with them, they narrate their flood stories with acuity, slowly a crowd starts to gather around, they open up & then everyone has something to say.

Out of nowhere someone brings you tea, they talk about the problems they have and how they deal with it , about other victims in difficult to reach villages, about politicians and NGO's who have helped them,

And about the bleak future that awaits them.

When we ask them about their requirements, its always the women who are encouraged to speak first; the men are just happy with what they have. The men are more practical in their demands; medicines for cattle,anti fungal crème (for ringworm or "dinai"), torch.. stuff like that.

When we tell them we have jeans pants for them..they blush.. they actually blush like children & generally nominate the oldest person around for jeans outfit. Women, with pallu of sari generally tucked between their teeth giggle and nudge each other. They have fun.

When we gave them woolen clothes for small children, they were very happy. Just a small woolen cap or a scarf per family, and they are happy.

Then we asked them whether they needed blankets. They were silent, all of them.

Maybe they dint believe that they can actually get blankets. It's almost a luxury to even think about that.

Well, we have procured 240 blankets today and it's going to them. It feels good.

It will be slightly difficult to take around 500 blankets and distribute them; it will take at least two trips on the boat. We have talked to Sarpanch, Amarnath Ji, he has been helping us a lot in the areas within Murligunj thana, Jorgama & Kumarkhand. We will be staying in Rahata overnight and hope to do the distribution in two days.

We would to thank Mr.Prashant Pandey, who took the initiative, asked us what we needed and committed funds for 200 blankets. Lot of thanks to Anubha Prasad & Kumar Gautam for helping us buy woolen clothes for children and to Dr. Arvind.G , (3^rd stage,6^th main, Gokulam, Mysore) & his colleagues for sending us six cartons of clothes and medicines.

God bless you all.

Thanks & regards

`chandan

+919931763070

Updates

2008-11-11T22:40:00.000-08:00

A fleeting moment of anxiety, perhaps hope; amidst a lifetime of poverty,fear & despondency.

I truly hoped that I will be able to give you some good news on flood relief , but not yet... a lot has to be done, specially as villages which were cut off till now have become accessible.

We are working in two areas, both on the same route; Rahata which is 20 KM away from Parwa embankment ( Madhepura) and Harijan tola, which is 10 KM from Rahata.

Since the last report, ITBP personnel have left the area as water level has receded and now one can reach Rahata by road . Although, its still difficult to take a four wheeler there , but carts and bikes can traverse up to Rahata.

We have distributed around 2500 cleaned & packed clothes, 80 KG biscuits, 1200 packets of cerelac,
Medicines, lactogen, chlorine tablets,soluble iodine ointments and 300 woolen caps in this panchayat.
The distribution is being helped by the Sarpanch of the village and that has made relief distribution easy and effective in this area.

We are taking clothes, woolen caps, blankets, cerelac & food grains tomorrow to be distributed at Harijan tola, which is 10 KM from Rahata, but still surrounded by water. The boat has to be changed at two places, and one has to cover around 5 km on foot to reach there. We are assured of help from Rahata sarpanch in form of boat and people to carry the materials' to Harijan tola.

We will be moving to Pratapgunj from there on Wednesday, carrying medicine & biscuits to villages which have been connected somehow by AMURT volunteers.

As the water level is receding, more and more villages are getting connected ; hence people who were taking shelter in relief camps are going back to villages. Occupancy in mega camps is slowly getting down, and in some cases, its only the most poor ,the unfortunate ones who are at these shelters. They have no place to go and nothing as their own.

These flood victims, who have lost everything ( of whatever little they had) are totally dependent on relief camps to survive. They are in shelters provided by our government, fed by our government, medically helped by our government….they are the poorest of the poor; they cant protest, they dont have the energy or will to oppose or choose an alternative shelter.. and they cant keep changing places from one camp to another,they are just too weak for that.

The flood relief administrators had made a commitment to run these camps till the conditions become normal,and I hope they will be doing that, come what may.

There is no clarity on the number of camps closed till date;and people fear that some more camps will be shut down . The apparent reason is that camp occupancy has become less and the people who are in the camp are very few.

Initially these mega camps were occupied by large number of people who were evacuated during the flood.As water started receding, people who could afford boat fare or who had relatives come down to take them back.. started going back to villages by boats, more followed later when water receded fully. In a way, people who could afford physical movement or fiscal incentives to get back to their villages have gone back.Its only the weak, poor and sick victims who cant make it back to their villages, or who don't have a address now in the camps.

There is no doubt about the magnitude and spread of this disaster..and any government would struggle to keep up with increasing demands; but after about three months into relief work, one would expect a more professional and focused effort from the agencies.

The other concern is regarding the status of repair at Kusaha.

It is imperative that the breach be plugged before snow starts melting in Himalayas and Kosi discharge picks up. It is a daunting task..but it has to be done.

If, for some reason, the repair work is not complete before Kosi discharge increases… it will be really bad. All the work that's being done now for rehab and reconstruction of the area will be washed away. The impact on population residing inside Kosi will be disastrous.

We hope that mother nature does not play any more tricks, and that the critical repair work is carried out within the specified time.

Anubha Ji & Kumar Gautam; Thanks so much for sending in funds, We procured woolens from 35K you sent us. A part of it is distributed in Ramganj & Rahata panchayat (Kumarkhund).
We would need more woolens & medecines .

The cattle in these areas are in very bad shape; we have been providing vaccines & deworming medicines to for them from our limited funds,..but they need much more than that. If any of you know of people/organizations who want to provide medicines/ vetenary help for these areas, please share their contact.

~chandan
+919931763070

We would like to thank Mr. Manoj for joining our flood relief work at ground zero level. Thanks a lot Manoj Bhai...

Updates

2008-11-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, woolen & regular clothes, medicines, water purification tablets,
veterinary vaccines (HS & BQ) & medicines and packaged food were sent to Jadia & Lakshminia
panchayat in Murligunj.

We have procured woolen caps,woolen mufflers and ear corers for 1500 children, apart fromlots of woolen clothes collected at Patna & from the clothes sent to us from our donors. The ground situation out here was difficult for about 10 days due to statewide agitations in retaliation for some unwanted political brinkmanship

Hopefully, good sense prevails and things become normal soon.
Thanks a lot to Anubha Ji who has funded the purchase of woolen clothes for small children; most of these clothes will be sent to Raahata and harijan tola in kumarkhand.

We plan to provide woolen clothes for small children to all the infants & small children up to 8-10 years of age to all the 2300 families who are residing at Harijan tola- Rahata cluster of villages.

Motor boat service had been disrupted for some time and we hope that they start soon. At places, one has to carry relief material for up to 10 km. Local villagers and paid porters are helping us.. but its taking more time.

We had a tough time coming back from Nepal after roads In Bihar were blocked due to agitation. But that gave us a chance to spend time near Nepal border (Inarwa) and we saw the Himalayan mountain range early morning. It was one beautiful experience...we were about 150KM south of Himalayan range and quite surprised that we could see the mountain range.

It was white capped horizon much above the cloud line...and it turned to orange glow just before sunrise.
Sometimes I wonder at this irony...beautiful, pure sky almost angelic sunrise...at the start of the day....and pain, suffering and choked feelings at sundown. Heaven and hell in span of a day..same place..same people..but so much change.

I would like to thank all of you for sustained help for such a long period, its amazing how humanity transcends time and tribe. Heartfelt thanks to the wonderful people of Maharastra, who have helped us right through this effort. Your help has been exemplary. God bless you all.

I hope and pray that in these trying times, people who celebrate 'Chath' festival are allowed to do so, where ever they are India.

Preparations are on for 'Chath' festival in and around the troubled waters of Kosi, and for a change, things look festive and positive... that feels great.

Would also like to thank AMURT volunteers who have been helping us in really difficult terrain and conditions.

In the last week, we have received -

*Babyfood & Cloriwat tablets from Sri. Raj Sachdev, Geekay Enterprises, Mumbai.

*INR 25000 from Anubha Ji, Delhi, for purchase of woolen clothes for children.

`chandan

+919931763070

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2008-10-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

We took help from ITBP men to carry relief material to Rahatha village,Kumarkhand, as this embankment was the last motorable point. We left Parwa embankment with relief materials for rahata village, Kumarkhand .The distance was around 15 KM & has to be covered by motor boats. ITBP were kind enough to help us with two motor boats & crew.. Also traveling with us were two Doctors who were headed for Kumarkhand.

~chandan
+919931763070

Kumarkhand;Flood relief

2008-10-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

Kumarkhand;flood relief

2008-10-19T15:46:00.000-07:00

Kumarkhand block flood relief

Boat sent to help us by Ms.Kiran Devi (Sarpanch) & her husband Amarnath Ji (AMURT). We had requested help from them(cellphone) after we got stuck in shallow water and the other ITBP motorboat with Doctors & relief material were lost somewhere near the 8KM mark.

We are very greatful to them for all the help they provided. It is very difficult to manage panic striken, hungry and angry population if you are cut off from mainland by 15-20 km of water for more than two months.

To their credit, they have managed the emergencies and the sustained flood conditions very nicely.

~chandan

+919931763070

2008-10-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

Near Rahatha village, Kumarkhand block.

Kumarkhand -updates

2008-10-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

Leaving Parwa embankment with relief materials for rahata village, Kumarkhand .The distance is around 15 KM & has to be covered by boats. We have two ITBP motorboats with us. Also traveling with us are two Doctors who will get down at Kumarkhand.

As one moves away towards north, becomes apparent that navigation is a real problem . There are no landmarks, no route, no predefined

corridor. As it happened, we lost one motorboat as we moved on. We waited for them some 10 km upstream, hoping that they were safe. Later, we found each other.

It is very easy to get lost. This place is no river having a defined way and underlying river bed. This is the new Kosi route flowing over farmlands. The surface water current is very high, and dangerously deceptive at places where the ground below is uneven.

Where's my share ?

2008-10-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

We distributed cerelac first, they wanted clothes; we distributed clothes; they wanted biscuits, we distributed that..and just before we reached this lady, we ran out of stock. We will make up for it if we meet her again :)

What was heartening was festive clothing and smiles all around.

Jadia- Darafga embankment stretch

Dussera,2008

Updates

2008-10-17T04:03:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

In the last five days, we have received 9 cartons of chlorine tablets ( one carton apparently misplaced, but railways have acknowledged that on paper, & if they find/receive it, we can have it), &

25 carton of clothes from Capegemini, Hyderabad.

Thanks again to Capegemini group, who have been sending us relief material throughout our effort.

Govt camps, which were being run in schools, have more or less been shifted to main camps, and many people have also returned back to the villages where water had receded.

Most of these villages are still not disinfected, and with a harsh winter just around, it will be tough for these people.

There are accumulated debris, carcass(in some villages in Jediah and murligunj where we are working),dead and rotting vegetation and stagnant pools of water, which probably will stay through the winter.

Due to reduction in water level,It is also getting difficult to get in these villages. You can reach some distance by boat, then you got to trek to the villages as water level is too low for boats.The problem is in carrying supplies. Last trip we borrowed a banana stump raft, and could carry supplies to some distance before it disintegrated. These rafts are to be pushed and not pulled (which we did).

One walks on the semi-metalled or brick-soled roads, which although are under ankle to knee deep water, are firm and safe. To push a raft one has to get down from the road..& that's dicey.

This trip (tomorrow night), we are taking truck tubes. Its a new area we are going to ( Madhepura-Murligunj) and dont know what to expect. ,are taking precautions.

In winter, life is going to be very difficult for the flood victims.

Cold,inadequate nutrition,poor sanitary conditions and stress will expose the flood victims to diseases like influenza,cold&cough, isnofelia,pneumonia et al., in addition to what they are/have already suffered from.

They will need warm clothes, specially for women and children. Woolen or cots-wool inner garments for children ( upto 6-8 years) are very important. Woolen clothes,woolen caps (monkey caps),socks, gloves.. anything that will help the children keep warm in dark damp conditions are needed out here.

NGO's are doing good service to affected people out here. Duplicity of efforts are very less and different pockets of flood area are taken up by different units of NGO's and self help groups.

Government Mega camps are functioning well, in an organized way and will be helpful to the people taking refuge there even in future, as doctors stationed there are also following up serious cases treated earlier at the camps.

But as you go north, towards Nepal, the flood conditions still apply. We are talking about places which are in route of the new kosi. Water current at the core flow area is still very strong.

Most of these places are north and north-east of madhepura. Many villages are still cut off as the roads joining then have been washed off and are still under water.

AMURT volunteers are in some of these villages doing yeoman's service. They are disposing carcass, starting basic camps, medical service and making semi-permanent camps for human and animal care.

They need medical supplies,doctors, veterinary doctors or student volunteers, veterinary medicines.
I hope people will come forward and help them.

We are helping them with all that we can, specially in camps which are operating in difficult interior regions.

You can contact Acharya Kisen Sood for any information regarding help and relief.

Thanks a lot to all who have been helping us provide some relief to flood victims.

thanks & regards,

`chandan

+919931763070

Volunteers needed

2008-10-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

Its more than 2 months, we are working incessantly in flood affected areas. We are in real dearth of people who can work at ground zero level. Apart from Chandan ji, there are only 3-4 persons(Srikant Bhaiya, Sipahi Chacha, Kishori ji and Santosh bhai) who are continuosly working at ground zero level. To sustain and excel further this work for long time, we need more man power at ground zero level.

So if you are intersted in working at ground zero level, then plaese come forward. For further details you can contact Chandan ji (09931763070) .

इस दिपावली में अगर आप बाढ़ पीड़ित लोगों के जीवन में लाना चाहते हैं खुशियों के रंग
तो उठा कर झोला आ जाईए हमारे संग
आप और हम मिलकर लायेंगे उन सबके जीवन में नया रंग

श्रमदान महादान

PS: Wait for my next post to know more about the Srikant Bhaiya, Sipahi Chacha, Kishori ji and Santosh bhai.

Thank's to Capegemini,Chennai & Indus International School, Bangalore

2008-10-13T03:04:00.000-07:00

We received 32 cartons of relief material( GATI D# 439426341) today afternoon.

Thanks a lot to Capegemini,Chennai for their help. Most of the clothes that we have distributed have come from Capegemini network.

Convey my heartfelt gratitude to the management and students of Indus International School, Sarjapur, Bangalore-25.
Thank you Mr.Kumar (Manoj Kumar,Leadership Curriculum Coordinator Indus International ) for all the help.

The 31 cartons of baby food/milk-lactogen/medicines etc. were really picked and packed very thoughtfully. Students from different classes and sections have sent individual packets of carefully selected material. It feels great to see this kind of understanding and generosity from the young generation, specially school children. Hats off to them.

This consignment is being taken to Muraligunj (ramgunj camp) tomorrow. Ramganj is still cut off and is in the path of new Kosi. Supplies are sent there by ITBP motorboats. The approach bridge is being erected by the army at a fast pace . A new camp is started their by AMURT, whom we are working with...and tomorrow our first supplies will be sent to the ppl at Ramgunj ....with lots of love from students of Indus International school, Bangalore.

2008-10-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

2008-10-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

2008-10-09T05:38:00.000-07:00

2008-10-09T05:34:00.000-07:00

2008-10-09T05:31:00.000-07:00

2008-10-09T05:10:00.000-07:00

Pictures from camps..

2008-10-09T04:52:00.000-07:00

2008-10-09T04:01:00.000-07:00

Food is scarce for everyone. People care a lot for the cattle that
survived the deluge and its aftermath. Cattle are more than
domesticated breadearners..they are family.
Children find n collect fresh greens for them any way they can.
This is risky(photo), but the boy was reassuringly confident
when I spoke to him.

"Whas to be done, will be done''

Thank you Serena, thank you Infosys.

2008-10-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

We have received the following relief materials (on oct 8 2k8) from;

Serena Fonseca,

A/903, Vikas Towers Housing Society

Mogra Pada.

Andheri (E).

Mumbai 400 069.

Carton/Bale#	Contents	# of Cartons
1	Childrens & Men’s Clothes	1
2	Ladies Clothes	1
3	Men’s Clothes	1
4	Linen (Sheets & Towels)	1
5	Medicines & Miscellaneous	1
6 – 21	Food Items - Biscuits	16
22 – 28	Food Items – Cerelac	7
29- 32	Food Items - Lactogen	4
33 – 36	Tarpaulin Sheets	4
TOTAL	Weight 800kg.	36 cartons

Dear Serena,Shanti & Cyrus DeSouza,residents of Vikas towers society
& all others who are involved in this relief effort,

Thank you so much.

Thank you for sending the relief materials despite the problems you would have faced.

Thank you for taking the initiative and seeing it thru...to make sure it reaches as close and as early to the flood victims.

Thanks a lot for sending these relief materials, I have received them all in very good condition.

Although I have not been able to meet Mr.Fonseca ( he is with the flood relief team at Saharsa), we are grateful that he & his team could come to Bihar and work with relief teams in affected areas. I hope I can meet him before he leaves for Mumbai.

The trapaulin sheets (15x12feet) coudnt have come at a better time...I was really desprate for this size of sheets.

Friends, I may not have been able to return your calls or update the blog as I am virtually traveling all the time for the last two weeks or so.

During the last ten days( 6 site visits) we have been able to distribute the following ;

Salvar-kameez-dupatta (sets) -680
Salvar /loose tops/nightgowns /trackpants- 800
Children - cotton elastic shorts -new-1200
Mislc. dresses- ~~ 1500 (approx)
Bedsheets,towels,blankets- 60
chlorine water puriication tablets - 360,000.
baby food (cerelac/farex/amul) 400 packets
common medecines(Paracetimol, analgesics, cough n cold medications) 3 cartons
Disposable syringe's 3 & 5 ml -900 pc
Anti fungal cream -350 pc.

These are the main items, miscellaneous other stuf like slippers, sanitary nap's,cotton, band -aid, cotton badages, torchlights etc are procured locally on requirements n distributed.

1. Team Infosys- Mysore, have collected substantial relief material and sent it through AOL.

1. Thanks a lot to Aditya Shembekar, Niranjan Baravani, Sahana Sudarshan, Ishan Bhalla , Surya Adivi, Sheethal Kumar G & others at Infy (Mys) for all the help.Thank you friends...may your tribe increase :)

I will keep you updated of the status of consignment.

Thanks to all our donors, without your help..this initiative would have been a non starter.

God bless you all.

`chandan
+919931763070

Items received: 03-Oct-2008

2008-10-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

Chandan has confirmed that he received clothes (Baby, men and women clothes) from.

IDG media pvt ltd

49, Geetha Building,

3rd cross,Mission Road

Bangalore 27
http://www.idgindia.com/
http://www.pcworld.in/,
http://www.channelworld.in/

Dear Sachin,
Thanks a lot for all the help .
We received three cartons of clothes & relief material from IDG media on 3rd October 2008.

The clothes we received were clean, sorted and packed by gender and age categories, and that was very thoughtful of you all.

Thanks again to all you warmhearted people at IDG media for helping in flood relief effort.

God bless you all.
~chandan

Guneshwar Ji sent 1 tent from Delhi which was received by Chandan on 3-oct-2008.

Expression. .. .less ?

2008-10-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

Embanked on embankments.

~chandan.kosi.2k8
+919931763070

Schools at relief camps

2008-09-30T23:34:00.000-07:00

Education center 1

In the background are the huts, which are temporary centers,
the strength of these schools are around 50. The attendance has been good as they are given clothes, biscuits, stationary, milk ...its a mechanism to sustain the attendance; the school is open for 4 hours daily.

The last picture is of Prathibha, herself a std 11 student and a victim of the flood, she started teaching smaller children.. And now the school has a mix of students from KG to std 8.

We have provided them/are providing books, notebooks, slate, dresses, milk powder, medicines, water purification tablets , biscuits.. to encourage children to spend more time together and learn something.

Food and shelter are provided by Mandan Bharti, Trivenigunj.

Life on embankments..

2008-09-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

Darafga embankment is providing shelter to more than a thousand families who could not make it to the

larger government camps.

Their temporary shelter is made of bamboo sticks supporting clothes or plastic sheets as canopy. Almost

all the huts have a raised platform inside as water is almost kissing the top of embankment..a rise of one feet of water can turn ugly for these folks.

To come in & go out from the embankment one has to either cross waist deep water or use country boats

Updates day 37-41

2008-09-30T00:59:00.001-07:00

Dear friends,
Apologies for the delay in updates. I was traveling to relief camps in Nepal (Bhimnagar & Hamuman nagar) and India ( Trivenigunj, Katihar,Baidhnathpur & Saharsa)

We have received the following between sep24- sep-29th 2k8;

Apologies for the delay.

The following consignments have been received between Sep 25- 29

From Vivek Pandey,Bangalore

Torchlights 60 pc with batteries (Eveready citylight) ~60 pc
Cerelac Baby food ~ 58 packs
Paracetamol tablets ~ Calpol, 1000 tablets

From V.R Bhalla
R.P.Jain Road
Juhu,
Mumbai -49

• Cerelac Baby food 240 packs ~ 110 KG~ 14 cartons

From Capegemini, Bangalore

Clothes 21 cartons
Foodgrain 1carton
Biscuits and sugar 1 carton

Thank you all .. it would have been very difficult to carry on without your support.

t&r,
`chandan
+919931763070

Update - Day 36

2008-09-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

Consignments received today;

100 vial testing supply (for water testing kit ) ~sent by Guneshwar, Gandhinagar ( Total cost with refill Rs.12213.00)
One carton of clothes sent by Capegemini, Pune.

Stabilization and rehabilitation;

One month & six days after the embankment at Kusaha went down; a lot of cloud still surrounds the whereabouts of people who should have been accounted by now.

Out of 3.5 million people who are reported to be affected by this deluge, a maximum of one million (very liberal estimate) are taking shelter in relief camps. Many people are reported to have moved on to Places outside the flood zone…How many? 2.5 million?

Twenty five hundred thousand people cannot just move out into thin air …they have to be some where. When and how will we know that? Many people are reported to have gone back to the villages as water receded, how many we do not know !!

It’s a Herculean task and all of us have to chip in.

Psychological counseling is one of the critical factors while addressing stabilization issue. Children are the most vulnerable, specially the ones whose family is missing, those who have seen their loved ones Gone under, those who have faced nature’s wrath huddled with their parent, day in day out, hungry, sick, frightened and confused.

Many of the flood victims are young, teenagers, children.. How can they look forward to a new life with all these emotional baggage and suffering that they have to carry for the rest of their lives?

Psychological counseling at camps has to be provided by the best professionals around; they have to be counseled for a new life ahead.

A lot of work has to be done, and the threat of rise in water level still looms large, Kosi is a late bloomer, it can turn ugly again, lets hope and pray that it does not.

If possible, let us have a skype conf. and share views on how these problems can/should be addressed.

We have given ten lifejackets to Anand Marg Universal Relief Team (AMURT). They had an incident while trying to get in Birpur interior and their boat capsized. Earlier, we had also given them clothes & 12 boxes of chlorine for the 12 camps they are running in interior areas.

We need plastic sheets/trampoline sheets for families’ deeper inside on the embankment.

We also need a tent for our team ( 2-4 person). We cannot stay at the site because of lack of shelter and that means more time is spent traveling and very less time on the actual site.

Darafga embankment, for example, is 300 0dd KM away; we leave Patna by 10pm, drive the whole night and reach the site by 9-10am . We hardly have 4-5 hours as we have to leave the site by 3pm to reach Katihar before sun down. And then 10-12 hours drive back.

I plan to stay on the embankment for 3-4 days; we can get a lot of things done and cover a lot of settlements if we stay at the site.

We have taken a room at Saharsa for storing our supplies, and once/if I have a tent, we’ll have a base there.

My team members will be coming back from their native village by 10 am today (they had gone for ‘Jeetiya’ and ‘Pind daan’) and we will start relief ops again tonight.

CFTRI ,Mysore has some good high energy low volume food packets, if any of us can find out more about them, it will be helpful.

I plan to work on the camps we have touched till December, if need be. I would hope for your continued support till then. I could not have done even 1% of the work, if I didn’t have a positive, pro active, supporting and integrated team like you folks.

Thank you all so much.

Chandan Singh

Sad Demise of Dr. Chandrakant Patil during Bihar Flood Relief work

2008-09-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Lightning-strike-kills-city-doctor-working-with-Bihar-flood-victims/364826

http://patnadaily.com/news2008/sept/092208/doctor_killed_by_lightening.html

"His death has come as a shock to his parents, as he was the main bread earner in the family. His mother is now in hospital because of the shock," said Anil Dudhabhate, general secretary of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD).

Patil's family friend from Dhule, Pramod Bet said that both his parents were in shock. "We are trying to support them and prepare for the last rites," Bet said.
"He was a very friendly and hardworking resident doctor with a keen interest in social work — something he planned to pursue in future," Dudhbhate recalled. Patil's father Umakant works in a mill in Dhule while his younger sister is studying for HSC examination.
http://floodreliefbihar.blogspot.com/2008/09/death-of-dr-chandrakant-patil.html

http://floodreliefbihar.blogspot.com/2008/09/appeal-to-help-family-of-martyr.html
We should come forward and give all possible support for Dr. Chandrakant's family. Not only in short term but also long term. He has lost his life for others so now its our moral responsibility to take care of his family. But unfortunately in past we easily use to forget our real hero's, hope this time we'll not do the same...

Guneshwar Anand.

Education centers

2008-09-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks a lot to all our donors, itwould have been very difficult to sustain our little effort without

your help.

Vivek Ji,(Vivek Pandey)thanks so much for all the support and encouragement you have been giving us and e materials you have sent..it helps a lot.

People at Capegemini, your support and prompt dispatch of relief materials have
been really helpful, as has been the quantity & quality of materials that we received and distributed.
There is something about the importance and passion for education in the relief camps which is so
encouraging, and given a bit of support ..there is no limit to the heights this small emerging community commitment can reach.

On the Dafarka embankment, a small classroom started by Pratibha Kumari
has encouraged two more such units on the 4km stretch of temporary shelter
for 1000 odd family living there.

With milk for children,books,notebooks,slate,chessboards,ludo,educational charts
and posters being given to them we expect more students to join these small educational shelters. We plan to start a few more on the nearby embankment settlement in this week.
This is all very exciting, yet humbling, their faith in tomorrow,in government, in you and me..in humanity. People wait for relief to reach at these places, and any delay kind of makes
you feel guilty.These camps are 310 km away from Patna and detours
because of highway Jams are becoming our biggest pain..but at least we
have a traversable road and a tireless crew to reach out to almost any of these camps.
This is not a regular monsoon flooding. This is a river changing course, taking the shortest route to discharge into the plains..into the ganges..and this river is coming untamed right from the Himalayan kingdom. This picture( google earth) shows the location of Kosi barrage, with left and right discharge canal system. The white color on the blue river image is SILT. Lots and lots of SILT. Kosi brings in huge amount of silt collected from catchment areas in nepal( ~ 86%) and India(~14%)

The breach happened about 12 km upstream of the main barrage, at the point where you see one broad blue band across the river bed where the Kosi crosses from the left flank to
right ( pic 4)), almost at center of picture. The width and location of the breach can be seen in the satellite picture (pic 5)

The width of breach is about 20 km. The new course of Kosi thus formed is
5 times wider than its older version and is slashing right across the heart
of kosi belt, almost perpendicularly south, meeting Ganges near Naugachia.
It almost seems like a ox bow lake of gigantic proportion...but it
isnt. Its something freaky.. the way a 10-20 meter initial breach can change the
course of humanity for more than 20 hundred thousand people ( Yes, thats two million) ...and more..its freaky, its unfortunate, it could have been avoided and its definitely not 'Natural' calamity. This might be the result of cumulation of small oversights from many years in the past. The future is shaky too, but its something that we can try to shape..cant we ?
We are working on education & childcare in some small distant relief settlements, we aim to build a basic structure for small centers of education. We have already initiated three such centers..and we look forward to do a few more.

We look forward to your help and suggestions.

ALERT : A driving licence,ID card and some important documents belonging to Mr.G.Poornachander of Rajiv chowk, Karimnagar,Hyderabad, Andhra pradesh was found in the clothes sent by Capegemini,(Kolkata/Pune/Mumbai). If anyone knows Mr. G.Poonachander, please ask him to contact us asap.

Life on embankments..

2008-09-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

Kosi still flows around , but the bite is gone..at least near this
embankment. More than a thousand families live here now,

and every passing day..a sort of village is developing out here.

You have to carry supplies through to these camps..and its a 4 km hike
to the other end...its was almost impossible to get anything on the far
end as we were almost mobbed

carrying the supplies through.

The best option was to go early in the morning and start from the other
end.

These are schools that have been started at the embankment are really
doing very well..and we plan to provide sustained help to them till
they are shifted to a permanent place.

Abhay & Guneshwar, both from DA-IICT,Gandhinagar,Gujrat,
volunteered to work with us..traveling all the way down from
Gandhinagar and immediately starting work

on these camps non stop for the last five days. Its been incredibly
pleasurable and inspiring to have them here..and as they leave us..we
are more

determined to carry on the education centers started, funded and
inspired by them.

Anand Bhadani is a M.Tech student and Guneshwar is a P.hD scholar at
DA-IICT, Gandhinagar.

Items Received/Purchased - today

2008-09-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

Iteams received From Mr.Vivek Pandey, JP Nagar B'lore

12 KG Cerelac baby food

Medicines:

Bentadine (Povidone iodine ointment)

Silverex anti bacterial cream

Electrol ORS sachets
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Items Received From Capegemini, Mumbai

51 boxes of clothes,food,shelter materials

Sent by Mr.Tulsi Dicholkar

Capegemini consulting India Pvt Ltd

B-3, Godrej Industries Complex

EEH, Vikroli E, Mumbai 79

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Iteam purchased by Chandan at Patna

Amul baby milk powder : 30 kg in 200gm sachets : Cost Rs 11025.00

This purchase has been made on behalf of NGO "PRAYAAS" Bangalore