Flooding Issues: Relief Camps, Outbreaks

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Flooding Issues: Relief Camps, Outbreaks

Relief, rehabilitation works at snail?s pace

Correspondent
A large chunk of flood victims yet to get State aid of essential commodities
MAHABUBNAGAR: The people in 91 flood-affected villages look disappointed over the way relief and rehabilitation measures undertaken by the authorities in the district.

While Collector K. Damayanthi is pulling all strings to see that all flood-hit villages come back to normalcy and ensure relief and rehabilitation measures to all the victims who came back to their devastated native places, things at ground level are far from it.

The government has promised to supply 20 kg rice and 5 litres of kerosene, utensils and clothes, besides compensation to damaged houses. But a large chunk of the victims and their families were not fortunate enough to get all these.

Slushy remains
Even the cleaning work of slush is being delayed. For instance, the slush cleaning work in Alampur temple town is in limbo. Electric pump sets (moters) that were employed to pump out water stagnated in the village are not working. As a result, muddy water that encircled the temple complex and low lying areas is still existing. Villagers could not enter their houses due to knee-deep water still lying there.
Cleaning works in Rajoli of Vaddepally mandal and Kutkanoor village of Ieeza mandal (both inundated) are going on at a snail?s pace. In Rajoli, restoration of power and repair works are going at a slow pace. At this rate, it seems to take ages for the villages to return to normalcy, a victim at Rajoli lamented.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/11/stories/2009101155430400.htm

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Flooding Issues: Relief Camps, Outbreaks

Grim food scarcity looms over state
Jayashree Nandi11 October 2009, 02:42am IST

BANGALORE: First drought, then floods. It?s like a curse on farmers of North Karnataka still grappling with devastated homes, lost lives and hunger.


The bad news is that the entire rabi crop has been completely washed away and over 70% of the kharif crop sown earlier is also lost because of the prolonged drought and then waterlogging for 3-4 days during the floods. The only consolation is that the soil becomes fertile after floods.

According to M B Raje Gowda, head of agro-meteorology department at University of Agricultural Sciences here: ?There is some hope for farmers if they manage to bear the initial devastation and get back to their farms. We are recommending resowing. If they sow 90-day crops like some pulses, they can grow successfully. The land becomes very fertile after floods ? specially the black soil in the region will be full of nutrients after the flood water recedes,?? he told STOI.

He added that the ground water will be recharged and they can use their borewells without difficulty. ?From the data we have, we strongly advocate resowing in these regions,? he added. A total area of 69.68 lakh hectares was sown by September 30 as against 71.34 lakh ha. This effectively means the actual area sown is 1.66 lakh ha less than the normal area sown.

The problem remains that even crops sown may not yield. ?Most crops have been completely devastated; about 80% of the crop is completely lost. Red gram or tur dal which grows in large quantities in Belgaum, Bijapur and Gulbarga is lost,? he said.

Incidentally, parts of North Karnataka which are drought prone have faced floods now. This land is rich in pulses like red gram, green gram, black gram, Bengal gram, jowar, sunflower, maize, among others. Sugarcane transplanted in July has been lost but the ones planted in January may have survived the wrath.
There is no assessment of how much of cropped area has been impacted by the floods, according to Raje Gowda. The state as a whole received 77 mm rainfall between August 20 and 26 against the normal rainfall of 39 mm leading to excess rainfall in almost the entire state.

The government also announced a 74% subsidy for resowing. But most farmers are now under debt, they are fighting basic necessities like rebuilding huts and tackling disease.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...city-looms-over-state/articleshow/5111085.cms

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Flooding Issues: Relief Camps, Outbreaks

People live in unhygienic conditions here

D.K. Kishan Rao

Relief eludes the flood-affected remote village of Talamari in Raichur district
More than 630 houses and huts in the village have collapsed
People are forced to consume unsafe water from nearby ponds

Raichur: The flood-ravaged people of Talamari, a remote village in Raichur taluk, majority of who belong to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, are left in the lurch in absence of proper relief and rehabilitation.

The village which has a population of about 7,000, was destroyed during floods. Of the 2,800 houses, more than 630 houses and huts, mostly belonging to the SC families, collapsed leaving no chance to take up any repairs. Agriculture is the lifeline of the residents but the standing crops, mainly paddy, in about 2,000 acres of land along the banks of the river were washed away. The landless people, most of them agricultural labourers, have been rendered jobless.

Water is still stagnant leading to the spread of water-borne diseases and debris piled all over the village. Except the restoration of electricity and repair of a road in the village, no steps have been taken to clear the debris and clear the waterlogged areas. The people have been forced to consume unsafe water from the nearby ponds and live in a polluted environment.

Bajarappa, Sawareappa, Hanumathu and other people belonging to the Scheduled Castes community have lost everything, including their huts and household belongings. So far, they have not been paid any compensation. They have no means of employment as the district administration has not yet started any employment generation work in the village. Except the supply of some foodgrains, authorities have not initiated any measures to pay compensation to the affected families or construct houses for them.

The residents told this correspondent on Monday that they had been demanding that the district administration shift them to a safe place by constructing houses and arrange for their employment. Otherwise, they will be forced to migrate to other places. But, the district administration has not been able to identify a site to rehabilitate the affected families as no one in the village was ready to provide the required land.

Rehabilitation camp


A rehabilitation camp set up near the village has provided shelter to nearly 1,500 affected people. But most of them belong to the Scheduled Castes as people belonging to Scheduled Tribes and other communities allegedly refused to live with them.
However, the people at the rehabilitation centre are living in a miserable condition following lack of availability of basic facilities such as safe drinking water, proper sanitation and bathing. Except the supply of foodgrains twice in the last one week, no steps have been taken to provide blankets and supply of safe drinking water. Owing to lack of supply of kerosene, the people have been forced to consume half-cooked food boiled by utilising haystack.

No officials have been posted at the rehabilitation centre to look into the problems faced by the affected people.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/13/stories/2009101353390400.htm

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Flooding Issues: Relief Camps, Outbreaks

Relief pain for flood victims
TNN 13 October 2009, 04:15am IST


HYDERABAD: Ten days after Andhra Pradesh was ravaged by the worst floods in its history, the relief and rehabilitation work being set in motion by
the state government and the district administrations can at best be called chaotic. As a result, many victims are still to get either food, fuel or clothing. What has compounded problems is the tardy effort by civil society organisations, most of whom are content with making small contributions in cash to the CM?s relief fund.

Chief minister K Rosaiah, who undertook a visit of Kurnool and Guntur districts on Monday, continued to face the wrath of the flood victims who charged the state with displaying complete apathy to their plight. ?When we distributed relief at some places on Monday, we realised that we were the first to turn up there to aid the flood victims,? a member of an NGO told TOI.

The chaos has been aggravated by the fact that various government agencies are working at cross-purposes due to the relief material being siphoned off before it could reach the victims. Civil supplies commissioner Sanjay Jaju, who is the nodal officer overseeing the relief, told TOI on Monday that government agencies had already distributed 10,000 tonnes of rice, 10,000 kilo litres of kerosene, 228 quintals of red gram, and 12,500 litres of palmolein to the victims so far.

?Each affected family is being given 20 kilos of rice and five litres of kerosene per month. We have enough stocks to look after the needs of about 10 lakh affected people for the next three months,? Jaju said. But sources said that these were paper transfers. Moreover, state disaster management committee officials claimed that the relief material will be sufficient only for five lakh people. But what is of concern is the fact that the rice and kerosene are not reaching the victims in many instances. ?In Kurnool and Krishna districts, officials distributing relief are taking the material from the government depots but pocketing it midway. In Krishna, there is already a shortage of rice,? one district official said.
That there is no coordination whatsoever between the various government agencies was made clear by the fact that almost a week after the chief minister announced that rice at Rs 16 a kilo would be distributed to the victims from special counters set up at various places, no such centre has come up. ?I have not got any communication to that effect,? Jaju said when asked about the distribution centres.
This being the plight with regard to the official relief distribution machinery, what appears to be providing some succour - albeit in a limited way - to the victims is the presence of voluntary agencies at many of the affected areas. ?While some gave us used clothes, it?s only because of them that we have received some food and other material so far,? said a flood victim from Alampur in Kurnool district.

?We are facing problems too because when we are taking relief materials we do not know which agency to hand it over to. As a result relief materials are getting dumped and is proving to be of no use, ? said Harish Chandra Prasad, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) chief for Andhra Pradesh. ?That feeling of kinship, the feeling that my brother is in trouble and I must do everything that I can to help him in this hour of crisis is conspicuous by its absence,? points an NGO representative who worked in other parts of the country.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ain-for-flood-victims/articleshow/5118056.cms

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Flooding Issues: Relief Camps, Outbreaks

Food scarcity stalking Karnataka's flood victims
Bangalore, Oct 16 (IANS):

After the devastation caused by floods in north Karnataka, hunger is now stalking millions of flood victims in the region due to food scarcity, said experts on the occasion of World Food Day here Friday.


"The proportion of food scarcity has been alarming in flood affected areas of north Karnataka. Floods followed the drought in north Karnataka, thus farmers could not sow their crops. Those who managed to sow their crop have lost it due to floods," Kshithij Urs, regional manager of ActionAid, an international NGO in Bangalore, told IANS.
Since 1979, after a proclamation by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), every year World Food Day is celebrated across the globe Oct 16.
According to an estimate of ActionAid, around 1.5 million flood victims are suffering from hunger and food scarcity since the devastation hit north Karnataka in September.
The Karnataka agriculture department has estimated the loss at Rs.250 billion in crop damage during the floods. It says the figure might rise further. Standing crops in 2.5 million hectares of land have been destroyed in floods.
An estimated 18 million people have been affected by the floods in 18 of Karnataka's 29 districts. Three days of torrential rains, followed by floods, beginning from Sep 30 left around 220 people dead in the state.
"The state is likely to fall short of the projected food production of 125 lakh tonnes for this year," an agricultural department official said."The combination of flood and drought earlier in the state proved to be fatal for the state. Under such conditions, poor people affected by floods are likely to suffer from hunger and food scarcity," he added.
As part of relief measures, the state government has released 65 tonnes of rice, 10,446 tonnes of wheat, 8,821 tonnes sugar, 23,444 kilolitres of kerosene so far.
"The food and essential items released by the government is to ensure food security in flood affected areas under the public distribution system," Karnataka Home Minister V.S. Acharya told reporters earlier here.
"To ensure that nobody remains without food, the flood affected families would be given a kit comprising 20 kg rice, 5 kg wheat, a kilo of pulses and sugar and five litres of kerosene and edible oil," added Acharya.
However, non-governmental organisations working in the area feel the government needs to come up with specific policies to ensure food security for the affected people.
"Unless the state and central government comes up with specific policies to ensure food security to poor people affected by natural calamities, it is difficult to provide even a square meal to these poor people," said Urs.
ActionAid has issued Rs.2 million as financial aid for the flood victims.
"Food insecurity in times of crises like floods can be handled with specific policies designed by the government," said Smitha Anand, Bangalore coordinator of Goonj, working for flood affected people.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/30910/food-scarcity-stalking-karnatakas-flood.html

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Flooding Issues: Relief Camps, Outbreaks

Many schools in Raichur yet to reopen

Staff Correspondent
More than 20,000 children do not have textbooks and uniforms

Raichur: The shortage of textbooks and uniforms and official apathy to improving infrastructure in schools in flood-hit villages of the district have resulted in the administration deciding to postpone reopening of many schools, which closed for Dasara.

Hundreds of families have taken shelter in many schools in flood-hit villages owing to the lack of alternative living arrangements. This has become a big problem. The situation has forced the Primary and Secondary Education Department to extend holidays for these schools.

Although some primary schools and high schools in the district reopened on Tuesday, several of them in flood-hit villages of the district are still to follow suit as the authorities have failed to take up the necessary repair work.

According to sources in the department, 72 primary schools and high schools in the flood-hit areas of the district have been partially damaged and need repair.

Other facilities such as the supply of drinking water and toilet facility are yet to be provided. Several schools in Raichur, Sindhanur and Manvi taluks need major repair.

The zilla panchayat has prepared a Rs. 2.88-crore plan to construct additional classrooms and has sought another Rs. 70 lakh to undertake repair work on 1,158 schools in the flood-hit villages, but things have not moved any further. More than 20,000 children in the flood-hit villages have lost their uniforms and textbooks.

The zilla panchayat had asked the Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) to procure the necessary textbooks and uniforms from Gulbarga which the department has not been able to do.

The Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat, Sameer Shukla, has asked the DDPI to postpone the reopening of schools on which repair work has not been undertaken.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/21/stories/2009102152640300.htm