Maharashtra struggles back after heavy rains
Heavy rains in Maharashtra have killed over 50 people and have left thousands homeless.
Mumbai, capital of Maharashtra state, is limping back to normalcy after the downpour last week. Five persons were killed when a building collapsed. Also, two persons were electrocuted.
Even as the rain has eased off in Sangli district, two days of deluge meant that families had to be shifted. Five thousand people living on the banks of the Krishna River were moved out of their homes.
In Amravati district, 350 villages are coping with the massive destruction caused by the floods. Twenty six people have died here. Power supply and roads have been badly hit. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes and over 300 cattle have perished. Nearly 4000 huts were completely destroyed and 11,659 more dwellings were damaged.
“Crops and almost three feet high soil have been washed off from farms. This means that farmers can resume agricultural work only after four months. Some land in fact has been rendered barren,” says Dr Madhukar Namdev Rao Gumble of Apeksha Society, an ActionAid partner organisation.
Water from Vishroi dam in Chandrabazar block of Amravati district was slowly released, which led to flooding in Pedhi River. This in turn has accumulated eight feet of water in Nandura B village. Low-lying areas, which mostly house Dalit families, have borne the brunt of flooding.
Koshish Network and Apeksha Society, ActionAid partner organizations are working with the district administration to move survivors to safer places like schools, community halls and village council offices. Over 30 volunteers from Apeksha Society are clearing out debris, mud and floodwater and pulling out submerged utensils from houses in seven villages of Chandrabazar and Achalpur blocks of Amravati district. Some clothes have been handed out to women and girls. But the need far outweighs the supply.
ActionAid partners distributed kits with 500 ml oil, five kilos of wheat flour, one kilo of rice, red chilli powder, one kilo of salt and one kilo of pulses among 1000 families. Plastic sheets were distributed among 40 families and 300 bed sheets were given away.
They are also assessing the extent of damage in these villages to see if they indeed tally with what government officials have recorded. Already, government lists that have missed out names of family members are being freshly charted out.
People are in desperate need of clothes, bedding and blankets. Plastic sheets and bamboo poles are being used as temporary shelters. “Residents of Talvel village are eager to rebuild and move back to their houses,” says Kamini Ranjit Kapadia of ActionAid.
The government has promised to dole out Rs 4800 for houses that were completely destroyed and Rs 2400 to those families whose huts were partially damaged. “This would be grossly inadequate,” adds Dr Gumble.
Other states
In Kolkata, rains have claimed lives of more than 50 people.
In Karnataka, 39 people have died in the heavy downpour lashing Belgaum, Bijapur, Raichur, Gulbarga , Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts.
In Kerala, 43 people have died and thousands have lost homes. Hundreds of families are taking shelter in relief camps. Power supply too has been hit badly.
Fishing communities were advised not to venture into the sea along the Maharashtra and Goa coasts.
In Rajasthan, flood-like situation prevails in Barmer, Pali and Jalor districts. These places have seen heavy rainfall for the past one week. ActionAid and partner organisation Lok Adhikar Network are keeping a close watch over the situation.
Last year 85,000 people were hit by damaging flash floods in Barmer. Survivors who lost their homes say that they are still waiting to be rehabilitated.
“Dozen families of Kawas village of Barmer district are still living in makeshift tents. Over 460 houses were constructed by ActionAid and partners with the support of European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office. One positive development after our campaigns has been the inclusion
of Barmer in the NREGA scheme,” says Navin Narayan of ActionAid. Lok Adhikar Network has helped 10,000 families to get job cards.
