| |
 |
|
Tsunami Relief efforts in Kerala 15-01-05 |
| |
15.1.05
So far 172 people died in Kerala. Number of wounded and suffering will be twice this number. People of Kerala's coastal lines have taken refuge in Kochi, Vypeen, Alappuzha, Karunagappally, Kollam, Vizhinjam and Thiruvananthapuram. Thousands of people of Kerala coasts became homeless. They lost whatever they had earned, except for the dress they were wearing whilst they fled their homes and villages. The future looks bleak for them. Most of them now have to begin from the vacuum. Whatever left in the form of houses are badly in need of repairs. They need every thing, from household utensils to clothing! As insult to injury, the fishermen folk lost their breadwinning materials, viz., boats, nets, etc. Whoever manage to go for fishing do not get the price for their catch. Because, due to a false and evil propaganda, the people are scared to eat seafood; the last straw on the camel's back !
|
 |
|
The very first day the urgent need was clothes, food, shelter and hygiene. Seva Bharathi Kerala could muster around 4,000 volunteers and they had the know-how to assemble make-shift latrines. It was a great help to several refugee camps of more than 2,000 people each (since the authorities failed to provide any necessary and primary facilities to the poor victims). Similarly, SEVA BHARATHI KERALA volunteers could collect loads of clothing and food stuff and distribute them among the needy in no time. It was a rare scene of succour for the victims as well as general public. The human and compassionate behaviour of SEVA BHARATHI KERALA volunteers was lauded and appreciated by the authorities, victims and people cutting across party lines.
The horrible and darkest aftershock of any natural calamity anywhere in the world is the decomposed dead bodies. Authorities, police and all parties of the establishment, as usual, shied off this stinking phenomenon. It is again Volunteers who do this job in the refugee camps in Kerala, Tamil Nadu Andaman Nicobar and Andhra states. Nothing stop them from taking out the 4 to 5 days old dead bodies from the depths of debris and cremate them as their set mission to keep the outbreak of epidemics off the door. Foul smell came out from the debris and coastal sands indicated possible presence of more bodies underneath them. Volunteers keep no stone unturned for bringing them out and cremate.
| Details of the loss ascertainment can be boiled down as follows |
| Most affected villages |
5 |
| Most affected panchayaths |
4 |
| Total deaths |
172 |
| Injured |
2140 |
| Total loss of houses |
3766
worth of
Rs. 871 |
| Partially damaged houses |
2036 |
| Required |
Repairs worth
Rs. 29,486,400 |
| Loss of household appliances |
Worth
Rs 31,132,000 |
| Affected commercial institutions |
177
Losses worth
Rs. 2,113,000 |
| Agricultural loss |
Worth
Rs. 2,600,000 |
Loss of occupational implements
(Boat, net, outboard marine engines) |
Worth
Rs. 508,206,838 |
| Details of Relief Activities undertaken by Sevabharathi |
| Total manpower engaged |
1600 |
| Total number of vehicles deployed |
500 |
| Rice distributed |
74,000 kgs |
| Vegetables distributed |
1,500 kgs |
| No. of beneficiaries |
144,000 |
| Other materials distributed |
| Utensils |
3,500 |
| Footwear |
1,550 |
| Soap |
3,100 |
| Clothes |
95,000 |
| No. of beneficiaries |
25,000 |
| No. of beneficiaries of medical aid |
4,500 |
| Houses cleaned |
1,850 |
| Other works |
| Repairs of road |
15 kms |
| Temple renovation |
10 |
| Bridges |
30 M |
| Burial of carcasses |
312 |
| Constructions |
| Latrines |
1257 |
| Tank |
162 |
| Counseling |
2138 |
|
The following are the most important among them:-
- Construction of 100 houses @ Rs 75,000, i.e., Rs 7,500,000
- Construction of community 8 houses@ Rs. 200,000. i.e., Rs 1,600,000
- Supply of household items for 3,000 houses: Worth Rs 5,000/house, i.e., Rs 15,000,000
Therefore, total budgeting: Rs 23,100,000
Sevabharathi set the above target in view of Jagadguru Amruthanandamayi Devi's statement that Mat desires to construct houses for each and every family who lost their houses in Tsunami waves provided Govt. permits.
Seva Bharathi Kerala has expresses willingness to adopt any number of orphans irrespective of their age. In Kochi, Sevabharathi workers are designing an ambitious project of distributing free drinking water for the coastal areas, viz., Vypeen Island (infamous for scarcity of drinking water due to inefficient Govt. machinery, Kannamali and Chellanam.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
