Third Team of DSW volunteers reached Saharsa

The third team of volunteers along with the rest of the department undertook massive collection of relief materials and has developed a road map to streamline the relief operations and also lay foundation for damage assessment. Mr. Avtar, faculty, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar College, is leading the team, which reached Saharsa on 17th September 2008. The team includes six volunteers from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar College, Delhi University namely – Mr. Avadh, Mr. Devbrata, Mr. Ashutosh, Mr. Tabish, Mr. Shantanu, and Mr. Akshay who will work with the DSW volunteers namely – Mr. Anil Minz, Mr. Anil Mathew, Mr. Albinus and Mr. Tejeswar along with a non-teaching member, Mr. Rajesh Singh Rana. The team 3 has taken along with them a relief material of worth Rs. 20 lacs.

Activities Undertaken by TEAM 2, DSW

Team 2 from Department of Social Work was headed by Mr. Farrukh Faheem, faculty, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar College, University of Delhi. The team consisted of six students namely – Mr. Ankit, Mr. Manish Kumar, Mr Nikhil, Mr. Rohit, Mr. Vinay, and Mr. Vivek and a non-teaching member, Mr. Amarjeet. They arrived at the base camp on 8th September 2008 and took over the operations from team 1. The team along with them took relief materials of worth Rs. 25 lacs. After an extensive one visit to all the sites identified by team 1for intervention, the team 2 carefully laid down their plan of action and mobilized the resources to intervene in the following fields:

• To meet the immediate health requirement of the victims at the point of their rescue at Bhutahi Baadh, Triveniganj Block.
• To cater to the needs of the marooned people on the embankment.
• To undertake participatory methods to identify the families requiring immediate attention on health issues and other basic needs.
• To take measures to stop the rising cases of diarrohoea and enteric fever.
• Further need assessment was done taking family as a unit for intervention and as per that 2500 families with pregnant women, infant, old persons and persons with disabilities were identified from a stretch of victims comprising of the weakest sections. It laid down the road which will eventually lead to the final rehabilitation of the families.
• The team from Department of Social Work became the first relief providers to the victims in Dinapatti village wading through 12 kms of flood water they attended to 287 patients on the very first day and distributed relief material. Thus proving right the slogan – “We make the road by walking…”
• Simultaneously, in Dafarka in Bhutahi Baandh we became the first team to establish a health centre. It is now catering to a population of 4 out of the 12 panchayats around that area.
• A mobile medical unit with support from HelpAge is fully operational at Patarghat in Sonbarsa.
• All the medical operations are facilitated by our DSW volunteers with the help of a medical team led by Dr. Saket.
• Based on their need assessment, the team 2 has started distributing the relief material to the identified families and has been applauded by the Indian army and CISF personnel stationed in the area. Currently we can claim that the medical services provided by the department in association with its partners is the only banner which is providing health services on a regular basis at multiple sites. No other agency is providing health services in the interior most areas.

Activities Undertaken by TEAM 1, DSW

Team 1 from Department of Social Work was headed by Dr. Manoj K Jha, Field Work Director, DSW. It consisted of six social students namely – Mr. Kaivalya, Mr. Digvijoy, Mr. Rajeev, Mr. Santonu, Mr. Pushpam and Mr. Udai, and a non-teaching member, Mr. Brijraj.

Team 1 with relief materials of worth Rs 15 lacs reached Saharsa on 2nd September 2008 and on that very day a base camp was set up at Saharsa. The team undertook rapid assessment of almost all the flood affected areas of Saharsa, Supaul and Madhepura for two days. It also analysed the relief work going on in Saharsa which has emerged as an ‘island of hope’ for millions rendered homeless. Finally an area known as Bhutahi Baandh was identified for the intervention.

Team 1 intervened at three levels:

1. Providing relief materials to the women (esp. pregnant women, children and elderly citizens at the point of rescue at Bhutahi Baandh. They were given ORS, biscuits, torches and other relief materials.
2. Running a mobile medical unit (MMU) at Majhouva, Madhepura. The medical unit was catering to all water-borne diseases, which include viral infections, stomach ailments and sores arising out of walking in the water.
3. Undertaking a participatory need assessment at Saharsa, Supaul and Madhepura. The emphasis was given to the needs of women, esp. pregnant and women with infants, old persons, physically challenged and the weaker sections.

The team also carried out awareness campaigns in the relief camps in Saharsa to prevent epidemics in the town already hosting twice its own population. The team members also helped local administrative bodies to stream line the relief distribution process and made practical suggestions to ensure that it reaches to all the sections of the society.
Darkness and Hunger are the biggest threats to the victims of the one of the biggest man-made disasters this nation has ever seen. The Department of Social Work is the only one which could understand and act by providing infant food to the lactating mothers who are incapable of breast-feeding their child and torches to fight the enemies of the night like poisonous water snakes. These efforts have been applauded by all the agencies including the state and media operating in the area.

Primary Health Centre at Bhutahi Bandh: A Ray of Hope for Many

Field Update 18th Sep '08

After the gloomy scenes that have dominated our psyche for the past many days, this update brings in something to smile about. The functioning of the Primary Health Centre at Bhutahi Bandh in a smooth way brings in a sense of achievement, a sense of making a dent in this vast expanse of destruction and death. Hundreds of people are patiently queuing up every day to be examined by one of the four doctors. Initially it was estimated that the Centre would cater to the needs of 5000-7000 people but at present it is providing services to more than 40,000 people. The Centre is filling up the wide gap left by the absence of any kind of medical facilities in the vicinity. Dr. Jha who was part of the first team and is back on the field with the third team reiterates the fact that, “...earlier the State was missing but now the State is callously missing.... particularly medicinal intervention, which has become the nucleus of all other intervention.” After losing their livelihood, their home, and their hearth what was left with them was their personal health which is now at stake and this has prioritised the need for medical intervention. Similar kinds of ailments are surfacing, like ear infection which can be traced to the use of contaminated water. The volunteers are also doing a commendable job and are being assisted by the TISS volunteers in running the show smoothly. Looking at the pattern of health complaints that the medicos are confronting in the area, demand for a fresh list of medicines have been communicated. These include:

• Iron Folic Acid Tablets
• Cough Syrup
• 2nd and 3rd generation antibiotics
• Anti-fungal Cream
• Steroid + Antibiotic Cream
• Eye and Ear Drops like Tearplus, Lubrigel, Mesol etc.
• Calcium Tablets
• Multi Vitamin Syrup
• Albendazole (syrup and tablets)
• Apart from medicines, one other item that is the need of the hour is 20-litre plastic buckets, for purifying water.

Bihar Flood Relief Network Solidarity March

Bihar Flood Relief Network, a forum of civil society groups and activists had organised a solidarity march on 13th September 2008 from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar to express solidarity with the victims of the Kosi disaster and reckless handling of the situation before and after the breach of Kosi embankment. Volunteers from the Department of Social Work took part in the March and shared their experiences. The concerned citizens of the network applauded the efforts of the Department and extended their support to the relief volunteers. The network emphasised the need for reconstruction of Human lives and building constructive pressure on the concerned authorities, government and media.

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Major New DU project for Flood Relief in Bihar

See the report in published in 'The Hindu', 17th September 2008 Click Here

See another news item at India eDUnews.net retrieved on 17th September 2008 Click Here

View Pictures from the Base Camp at Saharsa

Click Here

Fresh request to all the DONORs and FRIENDS

Thanks for the help and support extended by all of you.

The team working at the base camp Saharsa has recently updated that there is huge requirement of medicines and infant milk powder. The list of medicines are already posted in our blog. We, therefore request all our friends and supporters to concentrate on collecting medicines and infant milk powder. The third team of volunteers are leaving on 16th September 2008.

Mobile Medical Unit fully functional at the Bhutahi Baandh

The second team sent by DSW has fully operationalised a mobile medical unit (MMU) at Bhutahi Baandh, Triveniganj Block. HelpAge has provided a mobile medical van for this purpose. The MMU would be run by volunteers and doctors sent by the Department of Social Work, University of Delhi.

Update 10th September

The second team from DSW along with the members of first team established a medical unit in collaboration with Jurao at Bhutahi Baandh on 9th September 2008. Bhutahi Baandh comprises a stretch approximately 16 km in length on both sides of the river bank. Here a camp had already been initiated by Jurao with Dr.Saket Mani in charge. This included ‘Jurao Shivir’ which operates as a community kitchen. Setting up the medical unit was an arduous task because there is a huge dearth of material, including minimum basic infrastructure like tables and chairs. The response however has been massive, with nearly 500 people flocking at the camp for medical relief.

It was observed that the area closest to the river bank has been occupied by the more dominant sections of the society. Hence they have relatively greater access to relief material and medical care. On the other hand people from lower castes are located significantly away in the interiors and consequently their access to relief is negligible. The team has therefore deliberately identified and situated another camp approximately 7 kms beyond the Jurao camp.

Another area identified for intervention is Majhouva where more than a lakh people have coming from 250 villages. Here the DSW team will work with HelpAge to set up a Mobile Medical Unit (MMU). While HelpAge will provide the mobile van, the DSW team has committed to organizing the doctors, volunteers and medicines.

Following are the levels at which the students have been working:
At evacuation point, provision of relief material like torches and biscuits with focus on pregnant and elderly women. ORS is also being administered at this juncture.
Begining today, the second medical camp located in the interiors will be functional.
The team has reported massive cases of malnourishment.

Required urgently are the following medicines:
· I/V FLUID- 5, 10 rl
· INJECTIONS- TT, VOVERON, RANTAC, MVI
· IRON FOLIC ACID
· MULTI VITAMINS
· DIGENE
· ALBENDAZOLE
· NEUROBION
· PERINORM
· COUGH SYRUP/TABLETS
· CREAMS- Antifungal/Antibacterial/Anti bacterial/anti microbial/Diclofenac/Vaseline etc.

Urgent Requirement

LOTS OF I/V (INTRA-VENOUS) FLUIDS

(Including the Drip Set)

Relief Centre at DSW, DU

View Slide Show of the relief coordination centre at DSW, University of Delhi

Financial Update

as on 8th September 2008 (2226 hrs)

1. Cash Collection:...................................... Rs. 6,45,607.00
2. Collection in Kind:.................................. Rs. 42,00,000.00
3. University Contribution received:............ Rs. 90,000.00
3. University Contribution assured:............. Rs. 6,35,000.00

Plan of Intervention at Bhutahi Bandh

Updates from the field: 7th Sep '08

Apart from the existing collaboration with HelpAge India, the team Department of Social Work, D.U., has also decided to work with JURAO, another group working for the most marginalized of the victims of the brutal swings of river KOSI. As part of this initiative they have reached out with relief material to three thousand families on either side of the Bhutahi Bandh (Triveniganj Block).

The Plan of Intervention for Bhutahi Bandh, Triveniganj Block, Supaul District as communicated by our team is as follows:

1. Phase I- Consisting of approximately a 10 day period wherein the team shall reach out with and organize needs with the resources currently available as also facilitating the initiatives of JURAO.

2. Phase II- A 15-20 day period during which family kits containing dry ration, immediate consumables, biscuits, ORS, Candles, Matchboxes and other items required for daily living will be distributed such that a routine for the rescued victims is established.

3. Phase III- A 45 day time frame to begin with, where the team shall be involved in Damage Assessment and shall also liaison with other organizations in making provisions of specific need based support through a massive advocacy exercise.

Please note- The team has specified the following items as required urgently:

Medicines (Syrup and Tablets)

1. Multivitamins
2. Micronutrients
3. Iron Folic Acid
4. Paracetamol
5. Plain Ciproflox

Second Team of DSW on their way to Saharsa

Second Batch of Volunteers led by Mr. Farrukh Faheem, faculty, Ambedkar College, University of Delhi, along with six students, one non-teaching staff, five para-medics and a doctor from AIIMS, Resident Doctor’s Association with relief material worth 2.5 million are already on their way to Saharsa. The team is supposed to reach there by evening of 8th September 2008. Meanwhile, a team of three doctors who volunteered independently led by Dr. Saket has joined the team on 7th evening. They will be running the MMU (Mobile Medical Unit) set up jointly by DSW and Help Age.

The name of the Team Members are : Mr. Farrukh Faheem (Team Leader), Mr. Manish Jha, Mr. Ankit Joshi, Mr. Vinay Kumar, Mr. Nikhil Aggarwal, Mr. Rohit Bharti, Mr. Vivek Vardhan, and Mr. Amarjeet (Non-Teaching Member)

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.

Financial update

Please click here for financial update till 5 th sept

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pD0oywN8OgeDu3X0qNzrLcw

Fight for Every Morsel: An Account from Madhepura

Field Update 5th September 2008

Dr. Manoj Jha and Kaivalya Desai from DSW visited the Madhepura town along with the team from TISS. The site at Madhepura was worse than expected.

• Many areas of Madhepura town have around 2 to 3 feet of water. The team observed a lot of economic loss in the district as the life in the main township has come to a complete halt because of water getting into the town.
• The team visited the relief camp at T.P. College in Madhepura which had around 25000 people. The situation in the camp was extremely worse with people crying for emergency relief. In addition to this the entire administration was in a complete mess.
• Two of the team members witnessed a small food riot in the camp where two persons were fighting over a sack of rice. These two persons came from the same village. More over the policemen who were standing there started clapping and laughing at the site.

Death and Despair in Relief Camps

Updates from the field: 4th Sept '08

Group A visited the following places in Basantpur Block in Supaul district of Bihar on Day 2:-
1. Kataiyya
2. Kosi Barrage
3. Kusaha Dam
4. Kasoni-Musahari
5. Sripur
Apart from that Group also went to Sripur-Haripur area of Sunsari District of Nepal.
At all these places the group was accompanied by a team from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and one person from Help Age India.
Following are the observations made by the team:-

• The damage to lives and property is on an unprecedented scale. All along the 100 km drive to Kusaha (in Saptari district in Nepal) near Birpur in Supol district in Bihar, we saw people living in relief camps or living by the side of the roads in makeshift structures (plastic sheds) or anything impromptu chosen.
• Most of the camps were run by local and voluntary groups.
• There is a conspicuous absence of international donor agencies as far a running camps are concerned.
• At Katiyya in Basantpur block in Birpur Panchayat, we saw a large settlement of temporary huts living along the sides of the road. There were at least 35,000 to 50,000 huts in this area and an estimated 1 lakh plus population of families from Basantpur block.
• The people were in a state of helplessness, anger, frustration and despair. Everyone approaching them or they approaching anyone is unspoken dialogue on and around hope. Basic needs in these kind of situation such as food and protective shelters are conspicously missing and one can easily imagine the stage of medicinal help. Image a population of one lakh and you cannot spot any body offering medicinal help.
• These people are here since August 21. Apart from providing the people with plastic sheets for building their huts, no help from the district administration had reached them so far.
• People are surviving on eating roasted ‘chooda’ which is supplied by some local groups. We shall not like to comment upon the quality of Chooda (called chirwa in Delhi) for there are other unmet and unattended issues.
• Many people are falling ill – diahorrea, headache and fever are common complaints. No medical help is available.
• Some people have died due to ailments – cases of people dying after vomiting 2-3 times.
• As many as 25,000 people in Nepal and 75,000 people from Basantpur, Raghopur, Chatapur and Pratapganj have reportedly died by the river washing them away or due to drowning.
• There are people in Mohanpur area who are marooned (5-7kms from Kataiyya).
• People have paid anything from Rs.1000/- to Rs. 5000/- to boatmen get rescued.
• The poor and the dalits have suffered the most in terms to damage to lives and property. People who had pucca houses and double storied structures were able to survive when the flooding happened, as they could live in their terraces till the boats reached to rescue them. The poor had no option but to wade through the strong water currents with the river in full spate to survive, leading to many deaths.
• People are surviving by selling their jewellery and utensils in the nearby markets.
• There is an air of despondency among the people which we shared with them as we left from the spot.
• Similar settlements were there along the way before and into the Nepal side. However, settlements on the Nepal side looked more ‘settled’.
• The hutments on the Nepal side were also running into thousands – at least 50,000 huts by conservative estimates.
• These settlements were on the left side of the elevated road on which we were driving. This side is where the river originally flows, usually covering the entire left side stretch right upto the edge of the road. Due to the dam breach, the river now covers the entire right side stretch – running into hundred square kms. This is where the people (now living on the left side) originally used to live and cultivate their fields. All one can see now is miles of water.
• Help being offered by the Nepalese government is better organised than on the Indian side. People are given raw rice, dal and potatoes so that they can cook their own food.
• Many people from the Indian side are moving to the Nepal since they feel that better help is available on that side.
• At Kataiyya people told us that still many people from Nidam chowk, Birpur and Mohanpur are trapped and after many requests by the local people still the government is not making any effort to rescue the trapped people.
• At Kataiyya there are people from Bhimnagar Panchayat, Khojgama Panchayat and Baneli Patti.
• There are a lot of people nearly 50,000 who have crossed the border and are now living in the Nepal relief camps as the camps there are better organised.
• Cases of death in relief camps are also being reported by the people, which is deliberately being suppressed by the administartion.

Bitter-Sweet Events of the Day

A joint meeting was conducted with members from DSSW, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Help Age India. The entire road to Chhatapur, Triveniganj Block is washed away with water level of 3-3.5 feet at various levels. The major station is at Bhuthi Baandh where the marooned victims are staying in temporary shelters. The road link to this place is non-motorable. There are six stretches of water with approximately 2-2.5 feet of water level. Three-four patches of heavy current and an increased risk level were perceived by the team. Rescued families are leaving from Triveniganj with their belongings in plastic bags and jute sacks. As the road to Bhuthi Bandh is non-motorable the relief material cannot reach there. In addition to this is the unwillingness of the administration to reach out to the people. Migration is in huge numbers; 10,000-15,000 people came in a span of two hours as observed by the Team. People of all age groups including infants, pregnant ladies, and elderly are migrating to the safer places. The villages around and beyond the Bhuthi Baandh are completely submerged. Even the Army personnel admitted to the fact that 80% of the people from this area have not been rescued or evacuated. Around 10% are unwilling to move because of the fear of their goods getting stolen or looted. In 90% of the cases it was found that there is a lack of coordination between civil administration and defence personnel. In most of the cases the family has left the older members in the home so that they can watch over the resources available in the family.
The matter of utmost and urgent concern is that people have reported massive discrepancies and discrimination in the relief work. Private boats are charging upto 50,000/- including jewellery for rescuing the marooned people. On account of non-payment in certain cases there have been reports of people being dropped in the mid river. Absolute apathy on the part of boatmen and the administration has resulted in people waiting endlessly for the boats to ferry their families to safety. Even after repeated attempts boats are not reaching out intentionally to areas inhabited by Harijans. Even distribution of food items are being done far way (say 10 kms) from these vulnerable areas and groups forcing starved people to traverse this distance and that to on feet. In a few cases, the team successfully intervened on behalf of the elderly for tractor rides.
As mentioned earlier the relief camps in Saharsa are not in good condition and to add to it more and more refugees are flocking in giving rise to major medical concerns. DSW and Help Age’s first Mobile Medical Van, and the only one in the area would start functioning from 1500hrs today covering the relief camps. Dr. Ajay, a local physician, has joined the team to take care of the medical needs. There is a severe dearth of doctors in the area and all the available ones are neck-deep in relief work. A team of five para-medical staff with medicines worth Rs. 1lac will go with the second team from Delhi. Talks are also on to tap the alumni network of Aligarh Muslim University for more manpower. The team has assessed that the immediate need is for IVF bottles and Lactogen feed for babies whose mothers are unable to feed them. Here in Delhi, talks are on with various medical training institutions for trained medical relief workers. It has been planned that the first team would return two days after the second team reaches and the initial touch-basing is done.
Towards the afternoon the team visited a place which is 100kms away from the base camp and 55-60 kms away from the District Headquarters in Supaul. This place is in Basantpur Block where supposedly more than 100 villages had been submerged. People have made their own temporary shelters of plastic sheets or whatever material was readily available to them since the 21st of August. Approximately 30,000 to 35,000 huts accommodating a population of nearly 1 lakh are clustered at this place. Supplies of relief are very inadequate and are not reaching the beneficiaries in a proper way. Apart from the major chunk that came on 21st, everyday there is an addition of new families to the area which has already exceeded its carrying capacity. This is one area that they have identified apart from Bhuthi bandh and Triveniganj. The name of the place is Tathaiya Hydropower Station which is basically closed now and does not operate. The hutments that were referred to earlier are close to Tathaiya at Basantpur Block in Birpur, Supaul.
From there the team moved to the Indo-Nepal border also and went as far as Kosadh which is the place where the breach took place. In general the Nepalese army does not allow civilians to move in that area. The team noticed that even on the other side of the border (Nepal) there are huge numbers of people in hutments. But interestingly on the Nepal side the relief management and the relief operation is much better as compared to the Indian side. This was evident as a good number of them have regular electricity supply through generators and apart from that they have a regular supply of eatables.
The team and Help Age’s MMV has become functional but the team is debating on the logistics like travelling 200 kms each day which is practically not feasible and nor desirable. In this case the team in consultation with Help Age is considering other alternatives. Dr. Jha informed that apart from medical needs, the team will cater to needs for which they have the potential or resources available. He emphasised on the point that the most important and basic need at this hour is for medicines, medical help, food and tarpaulin sheets, the last item specially so because of the impending rains in the days to come.