Am going through a few more stories that I've come across as I moved through a few relief camps near my house. People are being looked after with timely food, good drinking water and clean environment. It's heartening to note that the youth are eager to lend their helping hand and go out of their way to mingle with people. There are many of the inmates of these camps who are lost as to where they would return once the camps wind up because their houses don't exist anymore as they've been destroyed and uprooted in the deluge.
There's a need to find sponsors who would take on the work of providing houses. Low cost housing materials are available in plenty, like bio toilets, smokeless chulhas, hollow bricks etc. These need to be put to effective use as government assistance may have limitations!
Having said that, there are a few aberrations that continue to exist in the ongoing flood relief camps. Some of them might appear comical but there's a message in each, that needs to be taken seriously and addressed forthwith so that things get smoother, better.
(a) The Quality of Clothes/Medicines.
Many of us tend to forget that the inmates of the relief camps are people with a sense of self
respect and dignity. Therefore, while donating clothes and medicines one must ensure the
quality of the items. Soiled clothes and medicines that have crossed expiry dates are a strict no
no. For heaven's sake, for a moment, think whether you'd like to receive similar material and
you'll get a clear answer.
Disaster relief is not the dumping ground for your waste. Please!
(b) Counselling the Camp Inmates.
While visiting the relief camps do take time to counsel them when they tell you their woes.
Giving a patient hearing and empathizing with them would go a long way in putting them at
ease. Your presence as a mere visitor would give the impression to a bystander that you're
going through the motions of visiting a zoo. I'm highlighting this aspect in the wake of a lad's
suicide when he came to know that his Plus two results had been reduced to shreds when the
flood waters had entered his house. There are many ways to get duplicate documents and as the
state's education minister had said today, the educational institutions need to be informed for
the remedial action.
And by the way, through counselling, you'd be improving your own communication skills!
(c) Declaration of a National Disaster.
Responding to a petition seeking to declare the floods a national disaster, the central government
had made the following points:-
(i) There was no provision in the statutes or manuals to declare a disaster as a 'national
calamity' (Were the past declarations a gimmick to hoodwink the public?) In hindsight,
I, too, feel that there were things amiss then because as I understand that by virtue of such
a nomenclature it becomes incumbent on the central government to take on the entire
range of reconstruction/restoration!? It has never been done, for sure despite the
declaration!
(ii) The situation has been categorized as a disaster of a serious nature and consequently, it
has been tagged as a Level 3 disaster under the national disaster management guidelines.
And the Court has said that the state government must make its rehabilitation measures more
transparent!
(d) A Strict Watch on the Cleaning Activities.
It has been reported from various quarters that the cleaning up teams are demanding
extravagant rates for their work. These need to be kept under check by the police and a team
of the local self government of a continuously roving nature.
You can't fleece the people for the difficulty that they are in, can you?
Tailpiece.
Vishnu, from my office, had come with the necessary papers and cheques for my signature. Since it was late in the night, I'd asked him to stay put and go by the early morning train/bus tomorrow. The worry that was in my mind all these days - the delay in distributing the pay and emoluments of my staff - has been sorted out. Phew!
There's a need to find sponsors who would take on the work of providing houses. Low cost housing materials are available in plenty, like bio toilets, smokeless chulhas, hollow bricks etc. These need to be put to effective use as government assistance may have limitations!
Having said that, there are a few aberrations that continue to exist in the ongoing flood relief camps. Some of them might appear comical but there's a message in each, that needs to be taken seriously and addressed forthwith so that things get smoother, better.
(a) The Quality of Clothes/Medicines.
Many of us tend to forget that the inmates of the relief camps are people with a sense of self
respect and dignity. Therefore, while donating clothes and medicines one must ensure the
quality of the items. Soiled clothes and medicines that have crossed expiry dates are a strict no
no. For heaven's sake, for a moment, think whether you'd like to receive similar material and
you'll get a clear answer.
Disaster relief is not the dumping ground for your waste. Please!
(b) Counselling the Camp Inmates.
While visiting the relief camps do take time to counsel them when they tell you their woes.
Giving a patient hearing and empathizing with them would go a long way in putting them at
ease. Your presence as a mere visitor would give the impression to a bystander that you're
going through the motions of visiting a zoo. I'm highlighting this aspect in the wake of a lad's
suicide when he came to know that his Plus two results had been reduced to shreds when the
flood waters had entered his house. There are many ways to get duplicate documents and as the
state's education minister had said today, the educational institutions need to be informed for
the remedial action.
And by the way, through counselling, you'd be improving your own communication skills!
(c) Declaration of a National Disaster.
Responding to a petition seeking to declare the floods a national disaster, the central government
had made the following points:-
(i) There was no provision in the statutes or manuals to declare a disaster as a 'national
calamity' (Were the past declarations a gimmick to hoodwink the public?) In hindsight,
I, too, feel that there were things amiss then because as I understand that by virtue of such
a nomenclature it becomes incumbent on the central government to take on the entire
range of reconstruction/restoration!? It has never been done, for sure despite the
declaration!
(ii) The situation has been categorized as a disaster of a serious nature and consequently, it
has been tagged as a Level 3 disaster under the national disaster management guidelines.
And the Court has said that the state government must make its rehabilitation measures more
transparent!
(d) A Strict Watch on the Cleaning Activities.
It has been reported from various quarters that the cleaning up teams are demanding
extravagant rates for their work. These need to be kept under check by the police and a team
of the local self government of a continuously roving nature.
You can't fleece the people for the difficulty that they are in, can you?
Tailpiece.
Vishnu, from my office, had come with the necessary papers and cheques for my signature. Since it was late in the night, I'd asked him to stay put and go by the early morning train/bus tomorrow. The worry that was in my mind all these days - the delay in distributing the pay and emoluments of my staff - has been sorted out. Phew!
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