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: Amitesh.Bharti@in.bosch.com & ashok.1857@gmail.com. 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- goonjinfo@gmail.com, anshugoonj24@gmail.com, 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 e-mail-ajitc@intoday.com

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?