flood_relief_team_in

D-Foundation A secure future for those in need.

ur relief team set off to Bihar flood affected area on 8th September 08. Driving whole day & night on the roads of Bihar full of ditches, we were able to reach BANMANKHI in PURNIA district next morning around 7 o’clock, some 700 Km away from Varanasi. After taking a bath, we went in different relief camps in the area and saw the desperate situation there. We saw many children suffering from fever and took them to other camps where the medical team was present, took the pregnant women in govt. hospital.

From there we went near MURLIGANJ (one of the severely flood affected area) where army had camped for rescue and relief operation. Area beyond this point was submerged with floodwater so no vehicle could go ahead of this point, only army and ITBP (Indo Tibet border police) boats were in action. No body was allowed to go to the boat point except army and media personnel. Luckily, Hariom, one of our team members is a journalist so we were allowed to go the boat point. There we met the army rescue team and provided them all the relief goods (bottles of drinking water) we could carry from Varanasi to distribute among the flood victims. We requested army to take us deep in the flood-affected villages from where they were rescuing people; they permitted only two of us (Hariom and Vikas) to go into the boat. There was a fleet of ten boats of ITBP. We boarded on separate boats. After a journey of about 4 kilometers, boats went into different directions in groups of two or three. On the way, I saw human dead bodies and domestic animals floating in the floodwater. The whole area was full of foul smell and it became difficult to breathe so we put on the mask. We were three onboard (I and two army soldiers). One was operating the propeller and the other was giving him the direction sitting on the front side while I was sitting in the middle of the boat. Soldiers had a map of the area, still they found it difficult to locate the target village where hundreds of people were still waiting for the rescue, so we stopped at a village where few people were still surviving and asked one of them to come with us to guide. Finally, we were able to locate the village. As we were nearing the village, a crowd of hundreds gathered at the perimeter of the village. We were followed by two army boats carrying the food packets to distribute among the flood victims. First, they started distributing the food packets among the villagers. The crowd rushed towards the boats and it became difficult to manage the boats so the soldiers had to use their sticks to control them. Many old and weak were waiting at the shore for their bit of share but I am sure they couldn’t get anything as the food packets were very soon finished.

Then they took the women, children and old villagers into their boats and went back to the boat point. Now it was our turn to distribute the packets. I got off the boat, went into the village, and saw the empty houses, no sign of life. When I went to the other side of the village, surprisingly, I found many people sitting desperately here and there showing no interest in relief packets. When I asked them to go and take the food packets at the other side of the village, they said that the villagers of the other side would not allow them to go near the boats because that part of the village was a different TOLLA (locality) of higher caste people. On my assurance that no body would stop them, they came with me and received the few relief goods that were left in my boat.

Vikas in middle A villager pledging for help

As Hariom told me that his boat went deep inside the flooded area towards MADHEPURA (adjacent district of PURNIA). The army said that it was their border line and other unit of army was in operation beyond that point. However, on his request they took him in the center of the flooded area where people were shouting for help and they turn the boat and went to Hanuman Patti village. The population of this village was around 800 to 900. They were waiting for help, many children were suffering from diahearia like disease and two women were in the last days of their pregnancy and were in pain. He went inside the villages and told them to calm down and tried to make them understand that they can only rescue women and children and old villagers along with two young men for the guide purpose. Around 16 villagers and kids were boarded on his boat. On the way back he saw a horrible scene. It was a bamboo cluster where a woman was hanging along with two kids tied on her back with Saree(CLOTH). They were dead. He tried to get near them but could not do so because many people boarded on the boat and the whole area was full of foul smell. They did not want the kids to see this scene. At the same time they had to take the sick people and the pregnant women to the boat point so that they can get medical treatment. Reaching the boat point, he took the sick children and the pregnant women to the hospital in his car and admitted them, some 30 km away from the boat point.

When we discussed with the villagers, they said that they had no information about the flood until they heard the sound of flood water entering the village. In this panic situation, they did not know what to do. They ran here and there to save their life. Very few people have a house made of bricks most of them had wooden huts. Some people rushed to the higher places but a lot of them were carried away by the floodwater. Around 4000 took shelter on the top of a school (K.P. collage).

K.P.inter collage near MURLGANJ. Rescued villagers

A funny incident happened with Hariom. There was an sick old lady and he(Hariom) was trying to convince her to come into the boat but she refused and said that she will not come without her goat so Hariom said her that you come I am carrying your goat. She got ready and boarded on the boat. There was no more space for the goat so Hariom left the goat as the boat started its journey back to the boat point. That old lady became very angry said him why don’t you me throw into the water. He assured her that in the next visit her goat would be rescued.

We wanted to stay there for some more days and help the poor people, since we had limited resources we could not stay longer. However, on the way back we made a plan to help these people in their rehabilitation, as we think to have the capacities and experience for it. We discussed with our team of architects, psychologists, agriculture experts and job skill trainers and also the local govt. machineries regarding their rehabilitation. We planned one project to adopt at least one village HANUMANPATTI near MURLIGANJ, from where we rescued villagers.