Uttarakhand Disaster Relief A BRIEF REPORT BY THE RSS-BACKED SEWA INTERNATIONAL TEAM VISITING THE FLOOD AFFECTED AREAS • A total of 15 Centers are being run at different places: Rishikesh, Chamba, Dhansali, Joshimath, Karnprayag, Chamoli, Srinagar, Netwar, Haridwar, Dehradun, Pokhari, Dhatyud, Uttarkashi, Guptkashi, Maneri, among others. • Types of Camps: Food Distribution, Medical Camps, Rescue Assistance, Transportation to Safe Places, Helpline Centres for Relatives of Yatrees, etc. • Approx 5,000 volunteers are serving tirelessly in different areas including flood affected valleys and plains like Haridwar and Rishikesh, among others. • There are many places where roads are completely washed away. There is no way for the vehicular traffic to move on. Volunteers have to walk kilometres together, carrying the relief material on their backs. They also cross tough streams & high hills, with the load of relief items, trying to reach far-flung villages. • In Chamba, there is a camp running since 22 June, where approx 10,000 people are being provided with food and medical treatment, regularly. • Chamba is a place which is a junction that connects all four ways of Chardham Yatra (Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath). A huge shelter has been established in village Dikhol near Chamba where pilgrims are being provided with food, medicine and everything they need. • Approx 8,200 yatris from Uttarkashi & Chinyali Saudh to Rishikesh are provided with transport assistance from June 21-24 by available vehicles: Bus, truck, car, sumo, jeep, tempo & police vehicles, among other vehicles. • Approx 200 villages are worst affected in the floods and some of them are totally washed out. Volunteers are trying their best to reach out to these villages/villagers and provide them with initial relief. • Flood devastated villagers, who have been rendered shelterless, are being shifted to safer places and through temporary shelters by Volunteers. • From the day #1 (16-June) till now, 20 truck-loads of relief material has been sent to flood affected areas from Dehradun alone, that contains: pulses, rice, sugar, tea, spices, cloths, blankets, milk powder, water bottles, medicines, biscuits and packed food, among others items. Material supplies from other centres, like Rishikesh & Haridwar, are also being sent. Some of the camps mentioned are being supported by various charity organizations with truckloads of raw food material. Even the civil supplies being supplied by the Uttarakhand Government is reaching our camps because of paucity of Volunteers. • Army & Indo-Tibet Border Force personnel are assisted by Volunteers in rescue operations & providing the personnel with food, shelter & other possible help. • Three teams from UDAPSS (Uttarakhand Daivee Aapada Peedit Sahayata Samiti) sent to three different locations, viz. 1. Badrinath-Hemkund Sahib 2. Kedarnath 3. Gangotri-Yamunotri - for surveying the area and assessing the loss of life and property. This will help is in planning the later rehabilitation program. • The floods have also affected the schools, hostels run by UDAPSS, Vidya Bharati and other organizations in a big way. This will also affect the student population. One such major project which was established after the 1991 earthquake is located in Maneri (14 kms from Uttarkashi), Sewashram, is a school with residential facility. Twelve rooms of the hostel are washed away in floods. • The remaining part of hostel has been converted to a Relief Camp (providing Campers with food, medicines, shelter, among other services) for needy people. Rotary Club & Azim Premji Club were impressed by the Sewa offered here by dedicated volunteers & have supported this Camp with relief materials. This Camp was started on June 18. This is the nearest location to Gangotri & people started streaming in soon after the floods. Till now 7,500 pilgrims (including army soldiers) were provided with food for 7 days, on round-the-clock basis. • Women from Bhubaneshwari Ashram have been actively providing volunteering services here ever since the Camp was established, supporting the Camp with food cooked at Maneri Sewashram Camp. • 70 Houses in Joshiyada village were completely washed away, causing many casualties. Rotary Club donated 35 tents to affected families and our Volunteer team is providing them with food, cloths, gas cylinders, medicines, blankets and some other necessary items.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 06:26:58 +0000
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