A National Disaster
Kosi – The Sorrow River
THE KOSI- A part of Ganges, Brahmaputra
& Meghna riverine system travels through
Nepal before entering the plains of Bihar.
Why so dangerous?
Young Morphology
Steep gradient
Ability to quickly change course
Leaves behind heavy silt and debris which
are infertile.
It has been causing huge damages to
Northern Districts of Bihar almost every
year
2008 Floods – an unprecedented tragedyUnlike earlier floods in 2008 the River itself changed the path that too up-to several kilometres.
Its Magnitude- Too large compared to earlier floods.(more than 2.5 lakh houses destroyed)
Submerged Area- Much higher comparatively.(crops in 1.06 lakh hectare wiped off)
Intensity of water forces- huge (flow of water through the breach went up to 1.9 lakh cubic feet per second)
No. of persons directly affected- Much higher
No. of deaths- cannot be assessed
2008 floods- Fact file
The worst affected districts: Supaul,
Saharsa, Madhepura, Araria, Purnia &
Katihar
866 villages destroyed - India Today
Minimum Rs. 10,000 crore loss - India
Today
More than 2000 camps are needed for the
displaced - India Today
As per Sahara TV, who have special
correspondent in the affected area, it is
feared that even one lakh people might have
lost their lives.
2008 floods- The scale of challenge
The magnitude of destruction caused by this flood is higher than Hurricane
Katrina, Super Cyclone and Tsunami
The rehabilitation is going to take longer than what it took to recover from
the aftermaths of Tsunami
Lakhs of people still trapped and have to be evacuated.
This Flood has resulted in one of the biggest ever evacuations of people in
history.
About 1.2 crore persons have to be rehabilitated-(http://www.igovernment.in)
Lakhs of people are lacking food, medicine,shelter and drinking water.
2008 floods- The scale of challenge
As per estimates more than 3.5 mn
people have to live under temporary
arrangements. Assuming Rs 60 as
per person per day cost for food,
shelter, clothing, medicine and
water, it will require 21.00 cr per day.
For 75 days a sum of Rs 1575 Cr is
required just for survival.
Add: Cost of rehabilitation!
2008 floods- Some reactions“The Kosi Flood is nothing but a
national Calamity”- Prime Minister, Dr.
Manmohan Singh.
“The floods have pushed Bihar back to
50 years” -Rameshwar Prasad, a local
historian
“Places where crops were standing 15
days ago is 12-14 feet deep under water
and the current of water is comparable to
Richter 5 of earthquake intensity”-
Chandan Singh- An environmentalist &
Flood volunteer
Caught in Flood… The human condition
Losing all belongings at once
Living inside the water
Taking shelter on the trees
Acute shortage of food and clothing
Witnessing death of family members, and
leaving the dead bodies in same water
Health hazard: drinking the same flood water
where dead bodies of human & animals are
floating
The Struggle to survive
The worst is yet to come …Historically Kosi River has been discharging water in much higher
volumes in September and October so it is feared that it will get worse
Once the flood water starts pacifying there will be out break of
epidemics.
Diseases like Diarrhoea, Cholera, other Gastro intestinal disorders &
infections can cause huge damage to human lives.
Restoring public Infrastructure would be a Herculean task
Loss of material belongings difficult to replenish
The worst affected would be Women and Children
What needs to be done?Macro Level: The Central Government has to take up the matter with Nepal and perhaps other international bodies for permanent solutions.
Here as an individual we have a limited role to play
Meso Level: Various state government/Other agencies should work in coordination to take up preventive measures.
Here, as citizens, we need to ensure that the government takes the task seriously. Write letters to government, media. Don't let them sleep!
Micro Level: Main focus is on relief measures. Here as individuals we can play larger roles by directly or indirectly participating in relief, either by contributing our time and/or other resources
A tragedy like this outrages us and makes us ask ourselves: What can we do to reduce the suffering of the displaced? The hope lies in our sense of responsibility for responding to this tragedy, which though
situated in a region, is essentially human.
If all of us contribute in our own ways we will overcome this calamity!
How You can make a difference?
Pray. Pray To Almighty for all those who are no more. More importantly, pray for all those who are alive and suffering the ordealCollect/purchase clothes, medicines, sleeping mats, tents, food grains, milk powder, polythene sheets, cooking utensils and donate themThere are several channels you can rely upon. If time permits, the best way is to directly approach the victims and help them out Collect money and Donate to any organization which you believe is doing good workAsk your employer for corporate/bulk donations. We can share one or two days salaries for those who have lost everything they earned in yearsMost Important: please never doubt how your contribution can make a difference? Its our little contributions, coupled with heartfelt blessing, is going to yield
“No one can do everything but everyone can do something”
How to contribute? You can contribute. Some of the options could be :
Option one: Write a cheque or draft to 'Chief Minister Relief Fund’, payable at Patna. Put your phone number, name and address on the back of the cheque. Deposit the cheque to the nearest SBI drop box or send it to “Chief Minister Relief Fund, Chief Minister Secretariat, 4, Deshratna Marg, Patna- 800001”. For Electronic transfer of fund send money to A/C No. 10839124928, SBI Patna Secretariat Branch.
Option two: Red Cross India, Contact, Indian Red Cross Society, North of Gandhi Maidan, Patna – 800001 Phone No: 0612 -2201035/6/7; 2226267. You can directly send cloths and other materials to the above address just mentioning that it is meant for flood victims.
Option three: Donating for Bihar flood victims to the Prime Minister Relief Fund: Details available on: http://pmindia.nic.in/relief.htm
Option Four:You can donate to Oxfam by calling in on +91 11 46538000 or by sending a check in the name of Oxfam Trust, addressed to Oxfam India, Plot Number 1, 2nd Floor(above Sujan Mohinder Hospital), New Friends Colony, New Delhi - 110065 (www.oxfam.org)
How to contribute?Option five:You can Send donations to Prayaas. (www.prayaas.org) Contact No: 91-80-28441463, E-mail: [email protected] & [email protected]. Mention flood relief and your name in remarks section. M/S Prayaas, Current Account No. : 10447347087 ,SBI, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Option six: You can send Donations to Goonj H.O Delhi-J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi- 76 Tel.- 011-26972351, 41401216 E-mail- [email protected], [email protected], Web Site- http://www.goonj.org cloths and other materials can be directly sent to their office
Option seven:Donate to care today. Draw cheques or draft in favour of “Care Today A/c Bihar flood relief fund” and send to care today, Hamilton House, A-1 Connaught Place New Delhi-110001, Ph- 011-23314216,23315801 [email protected]
Option eight: Many other local bodies/Associations can be contacted who are involved in relief works. If you are satisfied with their modus-operandi you can directly donate to them
Option nine: Make a visit/send a team to affected areas and directly help the people
“Every Rupee can make a difference” Issued in the general interest please forward this message to all your friends and known
If we don't,
then who will?
Top Related