Help Flood Victims in Bihar

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Greetings from Bihar.

Thank you for your continuing support.

All over the world when the media spotlight moves away from natural disasters and 24 hour wall to wall TV coverage becomes zero coverage, the victims are left behind. It is depressing how all too often,( not always) the huge sums of money raised by compassionate donations seems to have little effect at the point of need. If you do not mind me saying Bill Gates and other big donors including  government aid is all well and good, but why it is not more thoughtful and better balanced?

We understand the Bill Gates foundation has given 90 million dollars over 4 years to the Bihar Government to improve health care provision in just a few districts. We welcome any help given to anybody, but we all know these large scale interventions rarely achieve the desired changes. More thoughtful locally based interventions working with people at the grass roots level with real cooperation and involvement with the actual communities in which they are based often achieve much better and more lasting results with far far less money. We are not saying one approach is by its self wrong, but it is flawed by its singular inflexible approach with policies often determined a very long away from the point of need.

GlobalGiving enables individuals with its carefully vetted and tracked projects to get funds to such grass roots organisations that have a very real positive effect directly on People’s Lives.  

We have been able, as previous project reports have pointed out been able to engage local people directly in making their homes safer, to provide replacement livestock or cheap loans to start small business, and given out relief materials directly to people in need of them.

We will leave these communities stronger and more equipped to deal with the threat of flooding than even before. With your hep we will be able to continue this important work.

We thank you for your kindness and the next report will include a personal story from just one family , typical of many that we have been able to assist due to your generosity.

With Thanks and Warm best Wishes,

 Deepak   

Links:

• Our Website
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Dear Friends and Supporters,

First I would like to report that the monsoon in all parts of Bihar was normal this year, after two consecutive years of drought in South Bihar.

In North Bihar of course the floods are an annual occurrence, but things are improving. This is not to diminish the suffering of hundreds of displaced families and unfortunately there were deaths this year. Over 100 people lost their lives due to flooding.

As you know from our last report I visited the flood areas to supervise the donation of items of immediate need.  Throughout the flood season due to your generosity this work continued bringing much needed relief to many families.

The new Bihar Administration under Nitish Kumar has improved disaster response units, the management of water has improved, and embankments have been strengthened.

However our work is much more micro in nature directly reaching those in need at a local level, something that many times the government struggles to do effectively. In the past (there are still current cases pending in the courts) huge sums of relief money were stolen by corrupt individuals and government officers, hopefully this now a thing of the past.

 There is often much the villagers can do for themselves though by strengthening their own village flood defences at a local level, building raised safe shelters and planning together as a community how they can prepare for the monsoon as a community. This we can, and do assist with, along with the relief materials and the donation of replacement animals,plus loans for small new income raising enterprises has made a difference, and improved, and probably saved many lives.

Here is a news report from September 29^th 2011

Patna, Sep 29 (PTI) With major rivers maintaining their rising trend, the flood situation worsened today in Bihar where 89 rpt 89 people have lost their lives due to it since the beginning of monsoon this year. Disaster management department sources said the situation had worsened in Madhubani, Sitamarhi and Darbhanga districts following heavy rains in the catchment areas in Bihar and Nepal of the Adhwara group of rivers flowing through them.

 Official sources said 100 villages were submerged as the river embankment eroded at Awapur in Sitamarhi district forcing thousands of people have taken shelter in high areas. Flood waters of Bagmati river damaged 681 houses at Bairginiyans and also submerged NH 77 in the district, the sources said. In Darbhanga district Kamala Balan river breached its Maharji embankment in a stretch of 300 feet, while Bagmati has inunadated more than 200 villages, they said. Central Water Commission sources said the flood waters of Ganga was receding though its water level has crossed the danger mark at some points. The river is flowing 38 cm above the danger mark at Gandhi Ghat here and 27 cm above the danger mark at Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur. The water level of Sone river is 23 cm above the danger mark at Maner here, while Punpun river is flowing 257 cm above the red mark at Sripalpur, the sources said. .

You can see the effect of the floods this year in several films posted on you tube, just search Bihar floods 2011.

Again we thank you so much for your support for these very poor communities.

You can follow our work at

www.peoplefirstindia.net.

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With Best Wishes,

Deepak Kumar

Links:

• Our Website
• Our Facebook Page

Hundreds of villages in Bhagalpur, Munger, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, Saharsa, Madhepura and Bagaha districts face threats due to the increased water levels.

"Water has already entered dozens of villages. Rising water level in Kosi river is giving sleepless nights to people," an official of the water resources department told IANS.

He said the water levels of rivers have been rising to dangerous levels at several places. "It is a dangerous sign." Reports suggests that hundreds of people have been asked to shift to safer areas by the authorities.

The state government has asked engineers and district officials to keep a 24-hour vigil.

According to the Central Water Commission, the water level in Ganges crossed the red mark at several places in Bhagalpur, Patna, Begusarai and Farakka. Similarly, the Kosi was flowing above the danger mark at Bausa, Baltara and Kursela, and Mahananda at Dhengraghat and Jhada.

We are in the process of preparing more relief materials to rush to the affected areas and the supplies will go with a four wheel SUV to reach as far into the flooded villages as we can. Transport of this kind, plus boats of course are very much needed to reach people in need and we are doing all we can.

Thanks to your support we can get emergency supplies including life saving clean drinking water and purifying tablets, high energy biscuits , cattle feed and medical help to villagers who are once again in danger of losing their homes.

Deepak Kumar