Bihar Flood Relief: UDAI (University for Development Action and Integrated Learning): Relief Material worth Rs. 2.5 Million sent to Saharsa

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Relief Material worth Rs. 2.5 Million sent to Saharsa

Relief material of worth Rs. 2.5 million was booked in the parcel room of the Old Delhi Railway Station by Department of Social Work (DSW), University of Delhi. Initially the Railway Administration denied to receive the material and said that it can only be sent in the name of the District Magistrate. However, after a long persuasion and with the help of some senior officials helping at the personal level the material was not only booked but booked free of cost. But before it is done 40 students and 4 faculty members from DSW had to wait in the railway station using all their advocacy skills to get the job done. Dr. Ravi Ranjan from Zakir Hussain College, DU played a significant role in getting the materials booked. The team acknowledges the kind cooperation of Mr. Shri Prakash (General Manager, Northern Railways), Mr. Sanjay Jain and Mr. Gopal (Officer, Parcel Room), Mr. Mishra (Station Manager) at Old Delhi Railway Station for their support in booking the relief materials. Department of Social Work appeals to the Government of India in general and Railway Ministry in particular to create a systematic and simple process so that the relief process is strengthened and can carry on smoothly.

The relief materials despatched to Saharsa Base Camp set up by DSW largely contains medicines, ORS sachets, infant milk powder, tarpaulin sheets, slippers, torches, candles, match boxes, clothes, etc.

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Following the desk review of the situation in Northern Bihar as also through the information available from the state and district administration, the Department of Social Work, University of Delhi has developed its plan of action. Based on our experiences of working with victims of earth quake in Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand, we have taken the initiative for long-term relief and rehabilitation project- UDAI (University for Development Action and Integrated Learning-II) for the flood affected people in Bihar with two fold objectives:

a) To contribute in relief and rehabilitation of flood affected victims on long term basis.

b) To bring back experiences of learning into the knowledge system of the university.

We have already started our intervention from August 28, 2008 and a team of seven students and one non teaching staff led by Dr. Manoj Kumar Jha, Reader, Department of Social Work has set up base camp at Saharsa. This team left with relief material worth Rupees twelve lacs collected from various quarters.

Our Vice Chancellor Prof. Deepak Pental has contributed Rupees twenty lacs to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and has also supported the Volunteer based UDAI project of Delhi University. The University has given us all support to make requisite intervention in affected areas. All Colleges/ Departments of Delhi University are joining us in this task.
In view of the severity and the magnitude of the problem, the department realizes that post-rescue interventions can be made at four levels and that too in collaboration with civil society organizations based in Delhi as well as in Bihar:

1. Reaching out to affected families and individuals in the worst affected districts such as Madhepura/Purnea/Araria/Saharsa

2. Helping them with necessary and scarce items such as - packed food, medicines, chlorine tablets, torches, mosquito-nets/repellant, plastic sheets (tarpaulin ones) etc.

3. To liaison and work with government and non-government agencies.

4. To focus especially on children, elderly, Dalits, Muslims and extreme backward class communities as their vulnerability is relatively high compared to other groups and communities in the same region.

WHAT WE INTEND TO DO

We intend to work at three levels- immediate relief, long term post rescue relief and long term rehabilitation. For the same our strategy is as under:

1. Identification of an area (we might focus on a cluster of villages alone) and there too identify the vulnerable locations and populations
2. Development of base and network with government and non-government agencies (for facilitating relief and rehabilitation packages and measures)
3. The impromptu relief camps need better trained staff in the initial phase and professional social workers can have a better impact on coordination
4. Taking a team of twenty students with at least three faculty members which shall liaison and network with the district administration ensuring coordination and cooperation from different government departments as well as NGOs.
5. We also realise that sanitation will be a major problem for these areas as most of the people are residing on the impromptu found cluttered spaces. We intend to liaison and work with organisation based in Delhi as well as the ones working locally.
6. Ready to eat food is more suitable for these areas as availability of fuel will be a problem.
7. We are also informed that ORS packets are not adequate for the affected areas. There is a need for bleaching powder, lime and chlorine tablets immediately for the affected districts.

Bihar Flood Relief: UDAI (University for Development Action and Integrated Learning)

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Relief Material worth Rs. 2.5 Million sent to Saharsa

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