Bihar Flood Relief

Flood Relief Updates for 2008

2008-08-30T22:13:00.001+05:30

Details of flood relief activities carried out by our group is available at the following link.
http://biharfloodrelief2008.blogspot.com/
Please use this link for more information on what we are doing, what we need and how you can help us in helping more people in flood affected areas.

Details of donations that we received last year and expenditure in last year and this year flood relief operations is mentioned in the spreadsheet link given below. There are multiple sheets, please go through them for details.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pgN0IIAemFflRVQfY5-HJdg&gid=5
In case you need any clarification, please feel free to call me at 09323473603.

Thanks,
Rajiv

Flood Relief Operation : 2008

2008-08-28T09:07:00.000+05:30

The leftover amount from last year was 89823.

Majority of the people who donated for flood relief last year want to spend the left over money to this year flood relief work.

We have purchased 150x1000 chlorine tablets from Hind Pharma. The tablets are delivered at Patna and we are in the process of Delivering these tablets to flood affected areas in Forbesganj.

We have ordered for 300x1000 chlorine tablets from Hind Pharma and send the tablets to Chandan who is coordinating flood relief work in Patna.

We also send 25K money to Chandan's account so that he can purchase the items necessary for relief work locally.

chlorine tablets

2008-08-19T12:22:00.001+05:30

From: Dr RADHA SHARAN GOSWAMI <goswamibhopal@rediffmail.com>
Date: 19 Aug 2008 16:51:56 -0000
Subject: Chlorine TabletsTo: Rajiv Vidyarthy <rajiv.vidyarthy@gmail.com>

Dear Mr Rajiv
WE HAVE DISPATCHED 150 PACK CHLORINE TABLETS TO PATNAINVOICE NUMBER 69 DATED 18.08.2008 FOR RS 6420

On Sun, 17 Aug 2008 Rajiv Vidyarthy wrote :Dear Dr. Goswami,
It was nice speaking to you. Could you please arrange to send 120 boxes (having 1000 chlorine tablets, ones which we procured last year) to ChandanSingh in Patna. As discussed, you would be charging us rates same as lastyear (Rs 50/box having 1000 chlorine tabs)
His address is
CHANDAN SINGHC/O MR. R.P.SINGHABOVE RIMZIM TEXTILESOPP.POLICE CHOWKMAIN BORING ROADPATNA 800 001
Phone no- 99317 63070

=================================
Hi
Please get them dispatched tomorrow and send me the papers necessary forprocessing the payment.
We will release your payment once we receive theshipment in Patna.
Thanks and Regards,
Rajiv
0-93234 73603
======================================
On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 10:51 AM, Rajiv Vidyarthy <rajiv.vidyarthy@gmail.com wrote:
Dear Dr. Goswami,
Hope that you would be doing fine, we wanted to buy some chlorine tablets this year for our flood relief operation in Bihar.
Could you please let us know the availability and rates for the same.
Thanks and Regards,
Rajiv

2008-08-13T12:48:00.000+05:30

Rajiv,

I have received the amount, details below;

625905034454
13-Aug-2008
13-08-2008

BIL/000071440601/Flood Relief 2008/NSP
0.00
25000.00
POWAI MUMBAI I will be meeting with UNDP's guidelines/suggestions on distribution of prescription medicine. This ia apart from what we are distributing for water purification.

~chandan

Updates on 12th Aug

2008-08-12T12:29:00.000+05:30

Saturday 9th aug; I had discussions with NGO coordinators in Muzaffarpur; the flood situation was classified as normal with lookout warning in 3 blocks; Katra, Aurai and Gaighat. However, yesterday evening, I got a call that the flood situation has worsened in Aurai block and about 1200 families have moved on the embankment, taking shelter there. There has been rainfall and rise in Nepal fed rivers. As of now,these panchayats are affected;about 1500 families, mainly in Aurai block: Vishnupur Basant,Bharathua,Amnaur,JanarthSarhachiya,AmanaurPitojhiaBenipur.I suggest we start our flood relief effort now.
We will need water purification tablets ( chlorene tabs) , ORS, anti fungal creme, paracetamol/analgesics, cough & cold medication, salt, candles, matchboxes...and other materials depending upon the ground condition. We will start with ORS sachets & bleaching powder immediately and they can be procured locally. Order can be placed for chlorine tablets either from Bhopal/ Mumbai/Calcutta. The chlorine tablets that Tanya ji sent last year are of better quality than the ones we got from Bhopal. Kindly let me know your suggestions on this years Flood Relief Op(FRO) The apparent good news is that the intensity of floods will not be as bad as last year.
thanks,
chandan

Share your opinion on usage of left over amount for Flood Relief

2007-12-12T13:15:00.000+05:30

Requesting you to circulate it among the donors you know. Thanks, Rajiv

Dear Friends,

For usage of remaining funds, we are conducting a poll. Please let us know your opinion by accessing the following link.

http://www.esurveyspro.com/Survey.aspx?id=a6171aca-706a-4704-a201-31c7c4772527

It will take less than a minute to complete, please let us know your opinion. The poll would be open till 31st December, 2007.

Thanks and best regards,

Rajiv

our blog http://biharfloodrelief.blogspot.com

The financial details avaiilable at - http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pgN0IIAemFflRVQfY5-HJdg&gid=0

Status of funds

2007-11-24T14:21:00.000+05:30

Friends, Please forward it to the personal email ids of donors you know. - Rajiv
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friends,

Apologies for the delay in posting the financial updates related to the flood relief. Also thanks for your overwhelming support for the project, without your support it would not have been possible to provide any relief.

We have been able to make good use of the money, and provided relief wherever we could. Details of our project are available on our blog http://biharfloodrelief.blogspot.com

The financial details are avaiilable at the following link, a brief summary is posted below for your convenience

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pgN0IIAemFflRVQfY5-HJdg&gid=0

Total funds raised - Rs. 191208/-

Total Expenditure - Rs. 70,476/-

[Medicines - Rs. 53,194/- and other exp. (transport,courier, local help etc) - Rs. 17,282]

Amount available with us - Rs. 120,732/-

In addition to monetary support, we also recieved polythene rolls from Sri M K Verma and Our first consignment to chandan (medicines like chlorine, paracetramol, Ciprofloxacin, Metronidazole etc) was donated by Tanya ji.

Please mail me if you need any clarifications. Usage of the remaining fund is being discussed in the group, we are open to your suggestions. Please contact us at rajiv.vidyarthy@gmail.com.

Thanks and best Regards,
Rajiv

Images : Flood Relief

2007-09-06T21:26:00.000+05:30

Images : Flood Relief

2007-09-06T21:23:00.000+05:30

Our distribution network is getting better

2007-09-05T11:58:00.000+05:30

Folks,

Today we distributed relief materials at Jamalabad in Muzaffarpur district. The population is about 10000 with 2200 households.

These people were totally cut off till two bays back..but are accessible now.

We distributed about 400 ORS,10000 chlorine tabs and 200-250 paracetamol.

We are now making packets of medicines and hence more ppl are able to get the materials.

Regarding medicines,

This is what we need-

paracetamol 1000

spasmonil 1000

ORS 1000+

B complex 1000

entroquinol 500

domperidon 500

cetzin 500

cough syrup (anti-tissuitive/anti allergic) 1000

I can procure them directly from regional distributor, and they will cost 50-70 % of MRP, depending upon the manufacturing company.

If we get them cheaper frm Mumbai /Bhopal; we can have it frm thre.

Otherwise suggest that they be procured locally.

Spurious drugs ruled out.Batch no will be validated and signed by the distributor.

If we have a VAT no, then 3% tax can also be saved.

Payment can be made directly to supplier, either by cheque or online transfer.

May need to pay advance.

Attaching some pictures.

Each passing day our distribution network is getting better. Today we were distributing at two places..and it really was a nice feeling to see things falling into place.

We are doing great work guys, and we are getting lots n lots of good wishes from the beneficiaries.

There wz more rain in Nepal since yesterday night.. so possibly another surge in water level likely.

You tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe6i4xN0HGw

cheers,

chandan

--
Chandan Singh
Executive Director
GreenPower India

Images : Flood Relief

2007-09-03T22:14:00.000+05:30

Images : Flood Relief

2007-09-03T22:06:00.000+05:30

Inventory position as on 2nd sept

2007-09-03T21:53:00.000+05:30

The inventory position as on 2nd sept.

Received;

Chlorine tabs; 6 laks
Paracetamol; 1000tabs
Antibiotics: 1000 tabs
Anti diarrhea:1000 tabs
Bandages
Cotton.
Bentadine
Polythene sheets (donated locally)
ORS1000(bought locally)

Distributed :

Chlorine tabs;4.9 lakh 2lakh(Gaighat)+60k(Katra)+70k (Bhagalpur)+90k(Madhubani)+70k (personally

distributed yesterday and today)

Paracetamol; Around 500
Antibiotics(1000); Around 300
Anti diarrhea tabs;All@Block Hospital, Gaighat
Bandages; With me
Cotton: With Me
Bentadine: Being distributed in small bottles
Polythene sheets (donated locally); 4rolls(Gaighat); 3 rolls(Bhagalpur)7 rolls
ORS1000(bought locally); Around 700 distributed yesterday and today

Bulk medicines brought locally;
ORS 1000 sachets; Rs.5500.
21.8gm
Lupin
MRP 120 for 10
Batch L-4009
mfg dt; June 2007
Exp dt; June 2010

We are doing very well....its been a wonderful team effort.

Then and now.

2007-08-31T12:07:00.000+05:30

NASA :Flooding in Eastern India

Large Images:
August 22, 2007 (3.29 MB JPG)
June 4, 2007 (1.68 MB JPG)

Though the floods were receding, water still covered much of the Ganges Plain on August 22, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured the top image. The Ganges and its tributaries swell every summer with melting snow from the Himalaya Mountains and persistent rains from the Southwest Asian Monsoon, but 2007 produced larger floods than most other years. As of August 22, the unusually heavy monsoon had killed 2,106 people throughout India as a result of drowning, structure collapse, waterborne disease, or snakebite, said the Government of India. The worst-hit region was the northern state of Bihar, where 18 million people were hit by flooding when the Ganges and its tributaries overflowed, according to a Deutsche Presse Agentur report issued on August 22.

The top image provides an unusually clear view of the Bihar region in a combination of visible and infrared light. The few clouds (pale blue and white) that clutter the scene are small. Water, ranging in color from light blue to black, flows across much of the landscape. Places where the water is muddy or shallow are lighter in color. Reflected sunlight also lightens the color of the water along the right edge of the image. The areas that aren’t covered in water are bright green with vegetation. Before the monsoon rains started, the land was sparsely vegetated, as shown by the tan-pink color of the lower image. As the top image shows, a large portion of the state remained underwater. Nearly one million hectares of arable land flooded in Bihar, reported Reuters on August 22.

The last image shows the river system in North Bihar

Flood updates

2007-08-29T13:34:00.000+05:30

Folks,

Had not been able to update you all for last four days or so, but had been mostly on road.

Well, the situation of the flood is grim. And, unfortunately, it may be so for another four-five weeks.

We have been able to continue our operations in Muzaffarpur and Madhubani districts.Samastipur is a bit of problem as of now.

We have had really difficult time traveling these five days or so.

The CM had announced 1 quintal of grain to be distributed to all the victims. Next thing
we know that there are thousands of ppl on the road, demanding their share of
free sops.

It’s been horrible since then. How can any machinery deliver close to 50-60000 quintals
in every block of the affected area in a single day? So, we are having sporadic violent distributations,
some vehicles are being forcibly relieved of food grains and there is huge problem for of normal movement of vehicles.The government is reluctant to use force. Every where, some one or the other is blocking the highway…I
hope this trend peters out, as it is putting more strain on an already overburdened distribution mechanism.

It took me 11hrs to reach madhubani 3 days back.

7 traffic jams..ranging from 30 minutes to 150 minutes. And u cant go back..cause u r
truly stuck in 2-3 Km long motorcade.

Yesterday, while on way to Gaighat, I picked up Mr Sudhanshu(C.O, Gaighat) from zero mile
near Muz’pur as his vehicle had broken down.

Mr.Sudhanshu,me and doc.

It took us almost three hours(34 KM) to reach Gaighat..huge traffic jam was at some place
15 Km before Gaighat. Cause ? The villagers wanted their one quintal of grain,& because the stock had not come to their block, they were making themself “visible” to the forces that are.

Buses, trucks,private vehicles …all crammed on the highway. People were suggesting that the
flood victims should catch hold of the DM, BDO, CO and force them to get the
grains…why should they block the highway..it was affecting common people ?

So true na ? I seen ladies who were really uncomfortable, no place to go for natures call,
stuk for more than 3 hours..children crying, infants dint have water or milk,
old ppl were tired… everyone suffered suffered suffered.

And the CO was with us, I could see the pain and the resignation on his face. Has someone
recognized him, it would have been really sad. as the mob would have turned to
turn on him to “teach’ him a lesion.

No, he just behaved as most of his professional colleagues do. Lack of planning?
Coordination problem? What and Why?

When we reached Gaighat, there were thousands of ppl outside his office..

Circle office

I was in his office for close to 2 hrs. Heard all stuff ppl talk to him. Felt bad...because
of lack of compassion some local chiefs displayed.

One mukhiya thundered..”Road block karma mera fundamental right hai..a hum karbe karenge,
jabtak huko hamara anaaj nahi nilta hai.’’” Koiyo bheekh nahi maanh rahe hain..
jo hak hai wahi maang rahe hain…nahi milega ta cheen lenge” Very thin
line between "haq" and "bheekh". Nothing called 'relief' works for this chap.

C.O & D.H.O

When I asked whether he thought how the people travelling through this area are suffering,
spl. women n children …pat came the reply ..”kono tourist spot hai, kee ghumane aate
hain” “Ghare rahiyae”

Moron.

Thankfully these are aberrations, not the rule.

We have distributed 2 lak 60 thousand chlorine tablets in Gaighat and Katra Block, 1000 anti biotic
tablets, Paracetimol and other otc drugs like nimusulide, zintac etc.

60000 chlorine tabs have been given to Dr.Ravi(Bhagalpur relief)

I have procured 1000 sachets of ORS (21 gms) at Rs.5.40 a pc (distributors price) locally.

I am now going inside the villages. half mile walk in waist- neck deep water. Last time they
took me on a water buffalo. Felt real bad for the animal. So will be walking/
swimming thre from now on. There are three villages in that cluster.Hav given them
some medicines, torch, mosquito coil and chlorine tabs. Maybe will take
some pix nxt time. Dint carry any electronic equipment in these unpredictable
waters.

Would be mom :),
she is carrying a baby..

They have had two snake bite deaths last week, one being a young girl, recently married.She
got bitten around 2 in night and dint wake her in laws because of ‘lihaj’

Morning they brought her to sadar hospital,gaighat n was referred to DMCH.. she
died .Most deaths from snakebite is because there is no transportation (boat) from back country
villages.

Prevention is
better than cure

Samastipur is totally cut off. Hajipur –Samastipur highway is under water. Muzaffarpur Samastipur highway is still breached.

I hope there is better coordination between different sections of govt. machinery. This is a logistical
nightmare..distribution of relief material, and if not executed in an efficient mechanized
manner... whatever chances the ‘real’ flood victims had of getting help will diminish. Its more of ‘jiski laathi uski
bhains’ now. And poor underfed victims don’t carry lathis. They can hardly walk..let
alone demonstrate and block traffic.I hope this equation changes fast..am sure it will.

This is our
Bihar, and we can’t give up. We have to keep chugging n pushing forward. We
have to keep going. We are making a bit of difference. Focus and intensity is the key.

Touchwood.

Billy (&) the kid ! Lost everything..no worries..life goes on !

These kids rock !!

''Then let not what I cannot have, my cheer of mind destroy,

while I sing..I am the King, though a poor, little blind boy "

Pix of the 17 cartons of cl.tabs received from Bhopal

2007-08-26T00:14:00.000+05:30

Some pix, taken at the Circle office, Gaighat

2007-08-25T17:25:00.000+05:30

Some pix, taken at the Circle office, Gaighat

pic 1; R-L; Mr.Sudhanshu Kr Chowbey, Circle Officer,Gaighat Block

Dr.Raj Kishore Rai, Block Health officer, Dr.P.S.P Gupta, Surendra Prasad Singh( Block agricultural officer)

Bihar flood video on youtube

2007-08-24T10:03:00.000+05:30

Have uploaded a video of flood relief op. under taken by Bihar Developement Trust(BDT), Bhagalpur

This video has been recorded by BDT, and gives u a glimpse of what is the ground situation.

Pretty grim ,really.

Thank you Dev Ji and Dr.Ravi.

This is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09vChSx-Hq8

Updates from Chandan

2007-08-22T02:23:00.000+05:30

Folks

A better day today, much better :)

The water level has gone down in Benibaad and Gaighat block (the area where the highway breach had occurred) , its good sunshine for almost two days now and things are looking much better.

State government machinery is now working well to deliver food grains and other relief materials to flood victims. This is something that really amazes me..I mean the kind of delivery mechanism the government has; in two days flat, meetings are held, priorities fixed and relief materials delivered. The best NGO's would struggle to keep up with this pace. It feels so good.

The problem this year was the timing. When the S.O.S came, the government machinery just stood transfixed, as if paralyzed. Why ?

Is it because the hierarchical chain of command is non functional/ unreliable, or because its not practical. Don't know, but they better figure out a system in which major decisions during a natural calamity is not person centric or post centric, and command centered in Patna. They should have been localized to panchayat, block and district level. The person in charge on the ground is in best position to judge the scale of calamity and take appropriate action.

Example to cite is the efficiency in which the DM took charge in Badhaiya embankment breach last week or 10 days back. He was there within 30 minutes of the embankment breach,and personally evacuating persons trapped there. The result; the buzz spread around, and army choppers were there within 2 hours of the breach. Some 100000 live stock are taking shelter now in the neighboring districts.What would have been the reaction time, if the DM was not present. Would the decision making capability of ADM or person in charge be clouded by the fact that DM is not there and he would accountable for any thing that goes wrong. You know, Gautan Gauswamy episode is not entirely forgotten. These things play on your mind.

In Muzaffarpur district, I.P.S officer, Ratna Sanjay, took charge immediately as flood waters started breaching in. He is working 24x7 since then to provide relief to the victims. He takes relief material to the most inaccessible comers of affected area..he has worked the whole unit up as a really well oiled state mechanism. The policing in Muz'pur district has been excellent.
And you go there and ask any person about this gentleman, and you hear them talk about him in very high regard.This is what we need.And may his tribe increase in our state.

Coming back to the current situation, the water level is receding. That means rotting vegetation,carcasses,human n animal excrete and lots of other rotting organic waste will be concentrated in a smaller area, and will be exposed to heat and humidity. Ideal conditions for diarrhea, cholera and other water borne diseases.

We have our work cut out. Chlorine tablets, ORS/ anti diarrhea medication. We are continuing to do so.

It was also a pleasant surprise for me when Mr.Ramnathan Anand (www. ifaw.org) called up at 2.00AM yesterday from Mexico and informed that IFAW(International Fund For Animal Welfare) will be helping us to get fodder/medications/vaccinations for the affected livestock and stray animals,stranded and suffering because of the flood.

Personally I feel this is a very positive step towards putting our State on the International animal welfare radar. These guys are helping thousands of animals in distress throughout the world, and hence I had approached them through WTI to help us in Bihar. They accepted. This is a start, and also an indicator that there are donors who want to help us, but we have to approach them and put our case honestly.

Tomorrow, Dr.Ravi and Mr.Sanjay( Mr.Mishra's recommended volunteer) will take chlorine tablets to be distributed in their respective areas.Day after, I start working in Madhubani district.

cheers,
chandan.

Acknowledgement from C.O, gaighat

2007-08-19T23:38:00.000+05:30

This is an acknowledgement for what C.O, gaighat received,

he has also given a signed, stamped acknowledgement of the same, which I will have to scan and post.

dr.ravi has already ackowledged what he received.

Btw them they hav 96000 cl. tablets and 7bundles of polythene

i hav a bundle of polythene and 4000 tabs + all the sechdule H medicines Tanya sent

this wraps up the first lot.

Second lot( 18 cartons) is still packed.

Kindly advice who these should be distributed to.

cheers,

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sudhanshu2kr < >
Date: Aug 17, 2007 8:33 PM
Subject: Cool Bihari Flood Victims of gaighat Block
To:

Dear Friends
Thanks to you all for all efforts you made and your sensiblities shown
towards flood victims of Bihar . In Gaighat Block I received relief
materials from your contributions so far are as follws :-
Chlorine Tablets :- 86000
Polythene Sheets :- 4 Bundle
Match Box - One Cartoon
Edible Salt - One Quintal
candle - One bag
All these materials are being distributed to Flood Victims of the
Block Through panchayat Level Officials Like Panchayat Sewaks , Halka
Karmacharis , ANM and all these people are doing there best So that
all these relief materials to go to right hands.
My Sincere Thanks to Mr. Chandan who So far has done a great job
for flood victims of Bihar. His endeavour and efforts are highly
appreciable. Persons Like Mr. Chandan are ray of hopes for the poor
people of Bihar.
Apart from these we have started getting sufficient relief
materials from our Government side also.We are disributing around
45000 Quintal of Grains , One Quintal for each faimily of the
Blocks.We have distributed around 3000 pieces of Polythenes to the
Displaced People.Although continuous rains are creating so many
hurdles , But our official teams , Panchayat Representatives, even
Police personnels are doing great Job with high Spirit.

Once again thanks to you all and hope that sentiments shown by you for
Bihar will not slow down.

Sudhanshu

--
Chandan Singh
Executive Director
GreenPower India

Updates from Chandan - 19th Aug

2007-08-19T23:22:00.000+05:30

Folks,

Diarrhea is already broken out in the three districts we are working. The block level doctors are under pressure to contain this epidemic,and are doing their best...with what they have.

We have chlorine tablets, and some antibiotics(1000)Paracetimol(1000),anti diarrhea tabs(1000) and some bandages and cotton.

We need ORS sachets and anti diarrhea tablets.

We continue to distribute chlorine tablets till then.

Now we are having a fresh wave of floods and this is likely to deteriorate the already creaking state relief mechanism.

Hajipur Muzaffarpur highway is under water near Turki..

It was really exciting to drive through one feet of water,for close to 2 km's with just the knowledge..that there is supposed to be a highway below ur vehicle., when all u see around is a sea of water. Its also an awesome adrenaline trip...n u really really want to rip:)

Darbhanga -Madhubani highway is almost not traversable, and Muzaffarpur Sitamadhi highway is down and out.

The flood is not over. The most important thing is that we continue working with this intensity till we reach a point where we feel that we cannot do anything more to help these victims.

Update; Just had talk with Mr Sanjay, (Mr.Mishra's volunteer) he will be in Samastipur day after morning. I will be taking 2 lac chlorine tabs for him, which according to him will be sufficient to provide safe drinking water to all the stranded families in kalyanpur and wazirganj block, the most affected. They will seek help of Dr.D.G.Mandal( Retd Govt Doc) and he would be with us during the relief operation.

Many ppl are also suffering from stomach upsets caused by eating chura/uncooked meals/ irregular diets. Although these are not diarrhea cases, they are creating ground for secondary disease like diarrhea.

We are really working good as a team ..

"Together" is a very powerful thing.

There is nothing that we cannot do, if we are determined.

Thanks for being there, thanks for walking together.Well, we still hav a long walk ahead..so, lets stick around :)

--
Chandan Singh
Executive Director
GreenPower India

5 Lakh chlorine tablets delivered to Chandan

2007-08-18T10:20:00.000+05:30

Folks,

Have received 5 lac chlorine tablets from Bhopal.

Would like to thank Mr. Gowswami ( Hind Pharma,Bhopal) for the urgency he showed in dispatching the consignment, also for really good waterproof packing, and for trusting us and sending the consignment without taking any advance payment.

Am planning to distribute these in Samastipur and Kalyanpur block.

Would like to have inputs from any of us who know someone in these districts, as would prefer to get the distribution done through a known channel.

Or, suggestions about how we should go around distributing them.

cheers,

Pics from Gaighat -3

2007-08-16T20:23:00.000+05:30

Pics from Gaighat -2

2007-08-16T19:59:00.000+05:30

Pics from Gaighat -1

2007-08-16T19:43:00.000+05:30

50 Kg Medicines & Clothes sent to Red Cross Patna from Hyderabad

2007-08-16T18:34:00.000+05:30

Today we posted 50 Kg Medicine and clothes through GATI shipping services to Red Cross Patna.

GATI has offered shipping at minimum basic cost 1006/- for 50Kg.

I would like to thank all contributors on behalf of flood affected people.

1.> Thanks to Hyderabad based NGO Annapurna for providing Chlorine Tablets.

2.> Thanks to BHEL Hospital to for providing Antibiotic medicines.

3.> Special thanks to Jyoti Prakash Lal Sir (Wipro Technologies, Hyderabad) for his providing 500/- for Shipping.

4.> I would like to thank Mr. RL Dwivedi & Mr. PS Mohendra of M/S GATI for offering their service at minimum cost.

5.> Thanks to Rajesh Ranjan & Prabhat Shukla for helping in BHEL township also contribution in shipping. (They will post their detail separately)

Please find attached snap of receipt & relief
materials.

Regards,
Vivek
Hyderabad

Updates from Gaighat - Chandan

2007-08-16T18:31:00.000+05:30

Folks,
Sorry about the delay on yesterdays report.

All the relief materials were delivered to Mr.Sudhanshu, Circle officer,Gaighat yesterday afternoon;

In all,
Chlorine tabs 82000

Polythene sheets; 320 ft x 6 ft, 45Kg, four bundles,

Iodized salt 50 kg

One carton candles

One carton matchboxes

were handed over to his office. The receipt for the same has been given to me.

The condition at Gaighat is hellish, to say the least. As you cross Ahiyapur chowk and enter into Gaighat block..you immediately feel the contrast between these blocks.

Gaighat is still submerged, the whole block. In the 15 km stretch on the national highway... there was not a
single place where flood victims were not taking shelter.There is no possibility of any crop left, both standing ad

Taking shelter is the wrong word, as there is nothing to take shelter in. These victims are staying on the parallel highway being built along with there livestock. There would be close to 5000 livestock stranded in the open.

Whatever material these victims could scavenge to make a shelter, they are using it to shade the fodder, livestock and babies.

Relief is a farce. A laugh.And you dont have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out.

They are living marooned by sea of water under incessant rain.Yet they are positive.They are helping themselves and each other through this nightmarish experience.

What was also so different about these tough folks..was the absence of fear and hatred or aggression.
They hav taken this personally..and working out the problems one by one. They are obviously very disheartened wid the government.. which provides them a handful of chura- gur; once in three days or so.
No NGO's here. Red Cross, it seems, have not even ventured here, so are the others.Only UNICEF has made rounds in these areas are have really worked wid women and children marooned inside the villages.

Water problem is bad..hand pumps being the only source..apart from rainwater. The water from hand pump is
filtered but contaminated( common during floods)

Mr. Sudhanshu was kind enough to get his medical team which is attending cases of diarrhea in the interiors. They would be distributing the preventive medicines for outbreak of any water bound diseases.
we had some talk on what medicines they need and they would be sending us the list of medicines if and when needed.

We are doing good.But a lot more has to be done.

There is such a huge water body..sitting there..feeding itself with rain and water from Kamla .

Its going to take time.. and sustained honest effort to get this region back on its feet.

And a lot of determination.

Timely intervention/help is the key factor in disaster management.

Our government had failed miserably on this count. As a victim wryly added "ab hazaaro rupiya sarkaar daet to kaun kaaz ke; jab doo rupiya ke jaruat rahaie.tab ta saahib sab suttal rahin"( Whats the use if the Govt.gives us thousands of rupee now; when we needed help of two rupees..they were sleeping off)

cheers,
chandan

31 Kgs Cloths send to Red Cross - Patna

2007-08-15T20:36:00.000+05:30

Today I dispatched 31 Kgs of Cloths to Red Cross - Patna through courier.
The relief material is expected to reach the Red Cross office within 2 days.

Cost : 31 x 90 = 2790/- (90/- per kg)

I would like to inform everybody here that not everyone has the guts or kind heart to come forward and help people in distress. We are having bad experiences too when we try to seek people's help. I came across Post Office personal in Bangalore - Yelahanka for not entertaining my request to send relief material to Patna. We are getting cold response from Red Cross people in Bangalore and Hyderabad too.

Lets take this as challenge and keep our moral up. We will go to any length to help people in Bihar.

I have attached few snaps of Relief Material which I dispatched to Red Cross - Patna.

Ashok

updates from Bhagalpur - Dr ravi Chandra

2007-08-15T00:56:00.000+05:30

Dear Friends,

FYI

we visited maksadpur gaon,banjani panchayat, jagdishpur block, bhagalpur.

we carried chlorine tablets n three rolls of polythene given to us by chandan.

we carried chura gur for food also.

the village was cut off by floods and we were able to reach by walking into the water at places waist high.

The situtaion is too bad.My first experience in disaster situation.Fight brokeout between villages to get packets of chura gur. Somehow we managed.

Polythens sheets were too risky so we took home visits and then distributed.

Surprisingly, bhagalpur side relief operation is not there.Administration as well as ngos presence is lacking. We are too small to make a impact.

as the discussions goes on,may be we can focus on two-three villages max to provide some relief. There is risk for another break in of river tonight. It would be havoc.

I would like to thank all of you for the belief in us to carry out relief work. We have recorded in video camera and would like to upload on some common site where you can see it. situation is too grim to believe it.people are rioting to get relief material in narayanpur area. even a truckload is not enough.

is someone can influence the bihar admin on bhagalpur side, do help us. we will like to do our small bit to provide volunteers and coordinate.

regards

ravi

stock/distribution status as on 13-aug-07

2007-08-14T09:39:00.000+05:30

Folks,

To the best of my knowledge, this is the present stock/distribution status;

Stock position as on 13th Aug 2007,7.00PM@Patna

Polythene Sheets; 5 rolls; Each roll is 11.5 Kg; ( 80 feet X 4 feet) 320 sq.ft
Chlorine Tablets; 85 boxes of 1000 tabs each
Paracetamol; 1000 tablets
Ciprofloxacin ;1000 tablets
Metronidazole: 500 tablets
Gauge ; two packets(dispensary pack)
Cotton; one roll(dispensary pack)
Salt ; 50 kg
Candles;200 packets(12 candles each)
Matchboxes;10 boxes; around 500 odd pc.

Already distributed:

Polythene Sheet : 3 no. of roll (or 240 feet) to Dr. Ravi Verma, for distribution from Bhagalpur.
Chlorine Tablets; 10 boxes of 1000 tabs each Dr. Ravi Verma, for distribution from Bhagalpur.
Salt, ORS,matchboxes,clothes,biscuits etc were distributed yesterday and today from my contribution.

Tomorrow, we make point to point delivery, namely a) flood relief camp, Gaighat and b) Dr. Sharma (Viveks cousin, Samastipur)

Additional 5 lac chlorine tabs would be sent tomorrow by train from Bhopal,and I should have it by Friday. Rajiv is coordinating with Bhopal for the same.

It has been raining for the last two days...and today it was bad.Roads are really really bad. Had to make numerous detours.Also, in flood affected areas, one gets mobbed of everything that is in the vehicle,once it is known that we are carrying relief materials. Hence am traveling early morning.

Attached are details of three villages from Kalayanpur bock where someone who is known to Vivek can coordinate and monitor sustained relief after the flood water recedes.

We are doing good.

cheers,

Updates from Chandan - 12 Aug

2007-08-13T01:56:00.001+05:30

Folks,

Today morning left for Samastipur, and met the representatives of kodai village; these guys had suffered loss of large number of livestock within last 10 days or so, and I had to ascertain whether this is due epidemic breakout in livestock.had to confirm the report and arrange for remedial measures.Luckily, the conditions were not so dire as reported.

Moved further to vasirnagar block through ujjairpur, and distributed clothes, candles matchboxes, salt, chlorine tabs( 4000) to gram panchayat representatives there; took samples of animals for lab testing and was back to Patna.

The flood situation is slightly better, with water receding in almost all pockets.Drinking water is being procured by villagers from hand pump and from the river. Food grain scarcity is very obvious..also stuff like oil, salt matchbox,turmeric etc...these are procured from the nearest town or bazaar. The cost of these things have gone up.

Kalyanypur block is the worst effected..it is still reeling under the damages it sustained. There is almost total loss of food grain in that block..and infrastructure is visibly affected.

The road between Muz'pur and Darbhanga is functional now.Tomorrow morning will leave for Gaighat... shud be there by 9am; will be meeting shudanshu ji, C.O, Gaighat and work out how best we can provide help to them. Worth mentioning here is the presence and efficiency of Bihar government team, it felt very nice. Also , red cross is doing commendable job.

Will be handing over the supplies of chlorine tabs/plastic sheets/salt/matchboxes/candles /clothes to him for Gaighat block. Will also be meeting the block vet. officers

Two lac chlorine tabs would be dispatched from Bhopal tomorrow..should receive them by tue- wed.

The overall picture is slightly better now with roads transport being functional...but still...a LOT has to be done.

We will do all we can.. and then some more:)

--
Chandan Singh

Bihar Flood relief Meet at BHEL Hyderabad-reg.

2007-08-12T23:43:00.000+05:30

Dear Biharis,

A meeting was organized at the International Club at BHEL Hyderabad
Township. The participants were:

1. Manohar Poddar
2. Amitabh Jha
3. Prabhat Shukla Ranjan
4. Ajay Kumar
5. Shaukat Ali
6. Amit Sinha
7. Devraj Thakur
8. Rajesh Ranjan (1 to 8- all BHEL)
9. Vivek Kumar (from NCR Corp)

The situation in flood affected regions in Bihar was discussed and
collected some money and clothes as well. The following have been
decided:

1. Money and clothes (well pressed in good condition) shall be
given to Prabhat Shukla Ranjan, OFE Tech (Qtr. No. 142 D, Near IC,
BHEL T/s. Ph- 9912565618)
2. To purchase 1 lakh Chlorine tablets to be distributed among
the flood victims. The money collected shall be used to purchase
these tablets. It is hoped if we could increase the number of
tablets.
3. Everybody shall provide their native contact details to
Prabhat so that the relief efforts may get some reinforcements.
4. Medicines from BHEL hospital shall be collected by Birender
Kumar and Prabhat.

All the collected items including medicines and clothes shall be
sent to the flood victims through Red Cross society of India or
Courier on Wednesday. Hence, everybody is expected to contribute
latest by 14.08.2007 (Tuesday evening).

Myself will be in Varanasi on 15 Aug and would be arranging for
further relief materials from BHU and other sympathetic people.

Hereby, I would request you all to come forward for contributions in
whatever you can and suggest us the ways for better implementation
of relief works and start a chain reaction of help to our needy
Bihari brethren.

Best Wishes,

Rajesh Ranjan
Design Engineer
BHEL, Hyderabad
Cell-9441227547

Updates from Chandan - 11 Aug

2007-08-11T22:51:00.000+05:30

Folks,

These are the relief materials that I have with me now;

Medicines:

Chlorine tabs-90 packs (90000 tabs)
Clozole-V6-75 strips of 6 tabs
Cancap-VT-90 strips........."

Polythene sheets(courtesy Mr MM Verma)

8 bundles (20x2)meters double layer

Given to Dr.Ravi;

Chlorine tabs-10 packs(10000 tabs)
Polythene sheets- 3 bundles

These medications are supposed to reach tomorrow;

Metrogyl,
Antibiotics,
Betadine.

I have procured these for distribution,

1000 match boxes,
500candles
Alum( fitkiri) around 20 kg..will buy more en route
Clothes(dhotis/bedsheets/children/women)

Tata salt 50 kg

More or less this is the present stock.

What we need

Chlorine tabs...more..more
Clotrimazole anti fungal antibacterial dusting powder*
Oral re hydration salts( ORS)
Boric powder( dusting)
Polythene sheets

We hav been supplied Clotrimazole tablets..which has the same generic composition as 'clotrimazole antifungal antibactarial dusting powder*' but in a very high concentration. We can crush these tablets and add talcum powder to bring it to 1% w/w, and then repack and distribute. But I would rather avoid this as this is a schedule H drug, So, we will source this powder in the next lot or buy it locally (75gm/Rs 36/Cipla)

I am gathering more stuff.

Will leave tomorrow after collecting the remaining medicine..Two Greenpower volunteers are reaching Patna tonite,will be helpful for me

Plan to hand over a portion of relief materials to Mr. Sudhanshu, CO,Gaighat and move toward Darbhanga. If I can reach Kusheshwar sthan , then there are people there who can take up distribution for deep interiors.

Next move in to Jitwaria( possibly Monday) Give relief material to Vivek's folks and actually try to form a base for distribution in that area.Jitwaria is 4 km down from from Kalyanpur(13 km from Samastipur). I should be able to drive in to Jitwaria, so that could well be base 1 for further aid involvement.

News coming in from flood hit areas already indicate large number of diarrhea cases..so most important thing in this week would be ORS and anti diarrheal tablets.

Me and Ravi are working out how to make sterile ORS available to a larger section of people.

We should concentrate on medicines (chlorine tabs/ ORS) primarily..at least for this week.

Chandan Singh

Executive Director
GreenPower India

+91 612 6450916
+91 99317 63070

Hyderabad based NGO Annapurna supporting us in our initiative

2007-08-11T22:50:00.000+05:30

From: Hemlata Arcot [mailto:]
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2007 1:56 PM
To: Adarsh Rawat; Madineni, Narayana Aditya; K, Aparna; Arvind Tonne; Bhanu; Bharathi Krishnappa; bhaskar Reddi; Chandradeep B; Dharani; Arcot, Ganesh Anand; Arcot, Hemlata; Jagadish Gundu; Ghantasala, Lavanya; Lavanya Ghantasala VS; M Praveen; M, Praveena; Manoj Janagama; N, Sai Prasanth; Naresh Gowd; Naveen Mahadevuni; Pradeepa K; P, Ragasudha; Ram Mohan; Ramesh Raju K; Rita Sen; Sasidhar R; Sasikala P.; Pal, Shashi; Shrikant Babar; Soumik Kumar Mitra; Sudha Parimala; Rani, Sudha; Tataji; Vasudha Bomireddy; VishalKumar Vasi; Viswanath Munnangi
Subject: Urgently need your help

Dear Annapurnites,

An emergency situation has come to my attention. The floods in the Indian states of Bihar, UP, and Orissa has rendered 1000s of families homeless. About 1100 villages have been affected and cut off due to the floods. A colleague of mine, Vivek Kumar, hails from one of those villages named Jitwariya, Samastipur district, Bihar (110 from Patna, 150 Km from Varanasi).

These news article have a little information:

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/s-asia-floods-worst-in-living-memory-says-un/46268-3-1.html

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/217167/118664896778.htm

Vivek is trying to help the people affected by collecting old clothes and medicines and handing it over to the Red Cross India - Hyderabad office so they can package the items and mail it to Red Cross in Patna. Here is the link to Red Cross India branches: http://www.indianredcross.org/sb.htm

I request your urgent help in the matter. If you have any old clothes that you can donate, here are 2-3 ways you can get them to me.

1. At Lal Bazaar hostel tomorrow, there will be an Annapurna drive between 4 pm and 6 pm. You can bring the clothes there.

2. Hand them to any one of the Annapurna volunteers as below by sunday evening by making an arrangement accordingly.

Here are the volunteer names and numbers:

Aditya Madineni: xxxx

Sai Prasanth: xxxx

Shrikant Babar:xxxx

Myself / Ganesh: xxxx

3. At my home, you can drop the clothes anytime by sunday evening.

The only major requirement is that the clothes be clean and ironed. This is the only way Red Cross will accept them. We need to send this by monday morning. So, this requires urgent attention.

In addition, Annapurna will also sponsor medicines and chlorine tablets (to sanitize the water).Currently, there is shortage of clean drinking water and people are using the flood waters for drinking. This will cause diseases. Adding chlorine tables to water helps sanitize it.

Please spread this message to your friends and help this cause.

If you wish to help in any other way, please let us know. Please keep in mind, that this requires urgent attention.

Regards,

Hema

Updates from Bangalore

2007-08-11T22:35:00.000+05:30

Friends,
We had a very good meeting today in Bangalore. We were able to discuss some of the the plan that we can take forward in the second stage of flood relief operation.

Attendees:- Naveen Sharma, Divyanshu, Ashok Sharma, Nitish and Sanjeev
Venue:- Anand Coaching Center, BTM layout B'lore( Courtesy Anandji)

Following is the detailed description of agenda discussed in the meeting:-

1) We collected a substantial amount of clothes and Ashokji couriered it to IRCS Patna, thru DTDC as Bangalore IRCS was non-committal towards that.

2) The members in the meeting, addressed the need to identify the problems in the post flood scenario,that can be solved thru a virtual group like us.

3) Being a virtual group, with a large number of members living outside Bihar, it was identified that we do not have a large number of local presence in Bihar. This puts an operational limitiation on what we can achieve with our efforts.

4) Naveen Sir came up with a proposal that if we can identify a village in North Bihar( being most badly effected in flood), where we have a good local guardian, then we can adopt that village and start development work there.
Since our very own Vivek's ( Hyderabad), village Jitwaria( near Samastipur), has been badly affected by the flood, it was decided that we can put our efforts towards improving the life of people of Jitwaria.In this initiative we can be very well supported by Uncle and Aunty ( Vivek's parents), as they are based there .

5) Naveen Sir will send a detailed mail regarding this initiative throw it open for discussion within the group.

6) We also talked to Chandan in Patna over phone, and he has advised us to arrange sending antibiotic powder as a part of relief material.

regards,
Divyanshu

Updates from Mumbai

2007-08-10T23:49:00.000+05:30

The first shipment of chlorine tablets and other medicines is expected to reach Chandan tomorrow (Sat). Professional Courier had called up Tanya in the morning and informed her that the shipment will be delivered on Sat morning.

Betadine, which was part of the first shipment, was sent today to Chandan as the airline had refused to carry it yesterday (it was in liquid form and they needed some kind of documentation for the same).

We have located a manufacturer in Bhopal for chlorine tablets who has quoted 5000 for 1ooK tablets. We have got these tablets tested and have received positive feedback on effectiveness of these tablets.
We plan to buy 200,000 chlorine tablets on Saturday and courier (surface transport) it to chandan.

Chandan will be leaving for flood affected areas tomorrow and more updates on his plan can be found out in the previous posting.

Updates from Chandan

2007-08-10T23:47:00.000+05:30

Folks,

We are doing good progress here. We have clothes, medicines and trampolines/plastic sheets and loads of good wishes.

Will be leaving tomorrow for Gaighat after receiving the chlorine tablets.Today met Dr.Ravi and had really good interaction wid him regarding the job at hand. I will be giving him 10000 chlorine tablets and some plastic sheets for relief work from Bhagalpur.

Today a gentleman named Sri Madan Mohan Verma (USA) has arranged for trampolines/plastic sheets worth Rs5000 to be delivered at Patna. I will be picking it up on way to muzaffarpur. I am pasting the letter he had sent day before; .........

Dear Chandanji:

I have come to know of you through Atul's postings at the <> e-group.

I am sorry to know of your personal loss, and am highly impressed by your vigorous relief efforts in spite of it.

I wish to send some supplies like polyester and plastic sheets/rolls. But I need a delivery address for it.

Could you please let me know how best I can have them delivered to you. Your address, for instance.

Warmest regards and best wishes,

Sincerely,

M. Varma
.............................................................

That was a couple of days back...and today I receive a call from his cousin at Patna informing me that the materials hav been procured and that I can pick them up whenever I needed it.

I am humbled. And touched. By the fact that so many of you hav come forward to extend unconditional help despite your professional /personal commitments and busy schedule.

Thank you Mr Verma for such prompt action, its really very nice of you and all others who hav been helping us through these turbulent and testing days.

Its so heartening to see this kind of concern and willingness to help the flood victims coming from all corners of the world. may God bless you all and may your tribe increase.

cheers,

Hyderabad Meeting - MOM

2007-08-10T10:50:00.000+05:30

Vivek Kumar <> wrote: Today(9th Aug)evening we had a meeting near Cyber
Tower.

Attendees: Ashok Sharma
JyotiPrakash Lal
Rajiv Ranjan
Prabhat Shukla Ranjan
Vivek Kumar

We all agreed to transfer pledge to Rajiv’s account
ASAP.Worth to mention here:
===============================================
Transfer your donations through online banking to
ICICI Bank a/c no 002001019947
(Rajiv Vidyarthy, Powai Branch, Mumbai)

Deposit your donations through any ICICI bank branch
to ICICI Bank a/c no 002001019947 (Rajiv Vidyarthy,
Powai Branch, Mumbai)
==============================================
Going forward we will motivate all Bihari and well wishes of Bihar for donation.

We collect new as well as Old(but neat and clean, well pressed) Clothes & will ship it to Patna via Red-Cross (IRCS) network.

Vivek is responsible for making all coordination with Red-Cross (IRCS), he will follow-up with Red-Cross tomorrow morning.

We all expressed our admiration for wonderful job done by Rajiv and Chandan.

Worth to mention here Chandan is personally visiting & shipping relief in the flood affected areas.

Any body in Hyderabad can contact Vivek (Mob #9441117740) for any kind of donation.

Donation from hyderabad so far: Ashok Sharma 5000/-
Vivek Kumar 2000/- & Clothes.

Some non-Biharis has expressed interest in donating flood relief items.

This weekend Ashok is visiting Bangalore, he will be collecting floor relief items in Bangalore & will try
to ship it to Patna via Red-Cross (IRCS) network.

Ashok is making contacts with all sources and evaluating all possibility of chlorine tablet
procurement

Please come forward and organise such meetings in your city.

Best Regards,
Vivek

P.S. – Red-Cross accepts only good, neat & clean, well pressed clothes

------------------------
Vivek Kumar
http://vivekkumar2005.blogspot.com/
Job At: FSD, NCR Corporation [Hyderabad]

First lot of Medicines shipped to Patna on Thu

2007-08-10T02:19:00.000+05:30

Have just couriered

1 lac tablets of 25 mg chlorine tabs - one tablet is good enough for 20 litres of water

One dispensary pack each of
Betadine
Paracetamol
Coprofloxacin
Metrogyl
Gauge
( Will add if have missed something)

Package wt is about 70 kgs and sent by air today and should arrive by tomorrow / in case delayed then day after morn.

Total cost of medicine is 14500
( Rs 9500 for chlornie tabs basis rs 95 per 1000)
Courier : 70 kgs x rs 50 per kg

Main cost is courier. Medicines are cheap. Let's look at a way to address this pls.

Will send airway bill number in next mail

Thanks /tanya

Contact details of govt officials

2007-08-09T20:27:00.000+05:30

Folks

These are the ppl from govt. dealing with flood relief;

"Aapada prabandhan"/ Disaster relief

Mr.satish chandra jha ; 0612 2226305, 06126452572

Mr. Kr.Deepak, Assistant state project officer( with UNDP)
deals with NGO help requirements ; 94310 18682

Mr. Manoj Kumar Srivastav, Principle Secretary, Disaster relief
0612 2217945 ; 9430466786

I am in touch with them..and they are happy that we have been able to procure water purification tabs and of course other relief materials.

We can either hand the materials over to them or we can distribute it ourselves. They will try to get us through to the DM of the district which we plan to do relief work, shuld we face any problems.

If possible, TV sir can talk with them and see if we can concentrate in specific pockets for specific materials, so that duplicity is avoided.This is not a priority, am just thinking aloud..will be good if we can.

Area in dire relief requirement are Begusarai, Samastipur,Madhubani n west Champaran.

Am in tch with vivek..and he would try to get us in touch wid Samastipur SDO for relief work n help.

I am also working on relief and rehabilitation of stray and domesticated animals affected by the flood. If u know anyone who is a veterinarian similar field, ..kindly get me in tch wid him (call up chandan @ +91 99317 63070). Help of any kind from anyone in Bihar's flood hit areas will b a big help for me.

I have collected some good clothes for women and will be getting some for children by morrow.

I will be up most of the time before i leave for muzpur. If am not on line call me on cell; 9931763070 ; 9430887731

The groups name given to disaster management is 'onebihar'

Hope thats okey.

Take care folks.. we hav a lot of work coming up.

cheers,

GE water to provide clean water

2007-08-09T08:56:00.000+05:30

On 8/9/07, Atul Kumar <> wrote:
Friends .. am really excited to share this good news. Looks like some real progress on making Clean Water available via GE Water. Just received a very positive mail confirmation from my ex-boss H Bala at GE. Looks like both at senior levels in GE and also at Bihar Government things are progressing fast ..

This link below , http://www.ge.com/in/news/20060809.html (thanks to Naveen) shows that if things work out well then like Chennai in Tsunami it will be really wonderful support at macro level

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bala, H (GE Infra, Water)
Date: Aug 8, 2007 10:53 PM
Subject: Re: Fwd: Update on Clean Water
To:

Atul,
We all set...talking to chief secretary this morning.
Will come back to you...all upto sr leadership chain has given green signal, by tomorrow we should mobilize something.
Thnx
Bala
-------------------------

Chandan - 8aug07- Plan of action

2007-08-09T01:57:00.001+05:30

Ok so this is what I plan to do.

Most probably I will leave for flood affected area on friday. I am taking my sumo and hopefully should be having one or two volunteers with me.If that is not possible..i go with my driver and guard.

All the relief materials will be in the vehicle. One has to walk around 3 km to reach the relief camp from NH 57. The camp that I will be going is situated at Baruari maithi village and is known as kevatsa kamarthu center, near gaighat , which is 37 km from muzaffarpur towards darbhanga. Here 23 panchayats are badly affected and people and livestock are living on the highway. They are exposed to rain ..shelters were being put up last time.. hopefully they have grown in number.

I dont know how long I 'll be there..but am planning to camp there and find out other relief centers which is accessible by road.

I hav a draft copy of disaster management workbook, and should be able to put it up bfore I leave. The tablets must already be on its way.

I might b missing some imp. things...its kind of hectic here. Please feel free to call me anytime on these numbers 9931763070 and 9430887731. ..or on the net.

Think about what all the victims need, things that we might have overseen..we can carry them frm patna. Money is not a problem.

Its been an awesome effort guys... feel real good to be a part of this pro active group.

Godspeed.

Chandan - 8aug07- About relief operations

2007-08-09T01:51:00.000+05:30

The relief effort goes like this;
We reach the relief camp or shelter; which generally is a large ground or a portion of the highway or a school or college building. Generally this is the last dry area from which relief operations are carried out.

The block medical officer,circle officer, representations from ngo's like UNICEF n red cross are stationed there. All the relief material are dispatched from this place by boat or other transport to the effected villages. The ngo's which have their team there..get prior permission from the BDO or equivalent ranked officer and they are allowed to go into the villages by their own boats and provide medical aid and/or evacuate the sick ppl to the base camp.

I will hav to stop at Gaighat and giving the relief material to the CO, who then , sends the materials to the needy people. I cannot know which one of the hundreds of village is going to receive the packets that we give them. If we have any specific village in mind..we can request them to deliver the materials there, and weather permitting..they can get it done. THe agency which receives our aid will be giving us written acknowledgement for the same

Only when the water recedes and mop up operations are over...we can venture into the villages and choose one of them to be adopted by us.

Chandan - 8aug07- Updates from Patna

2007-08-09T01:49:00.000+05:30

On 8/8/07, Chandan <> wrote:

People,

There has been a incremental spurt in delivering relief material to the flood affected areas. Now at least 4 choppers are flying out every hour..and they are undertaking shorties during night too.

Unfortunately, water scarcity is still acute. Everyone is sending all kind of stuff, but potable water is still not available. People are drinking sedimented water( i.e leave the water overnight, sediments settle down, and they drink it in the morn)

Other thing is that, chlorine or halogen tabs are not going to kill parasites in the water,they just kill the germs...so boiling water would be the safest.

In the worst case, if we are not having these tabs by friday..I am still going in with what all i have..we don't have much time.

I also know how to use powdered chlorine to disinfect water..for drinking purposed.. Will probably train 10 to 12 guys at Gaighat to undertake this filtration method in the interiors.

Rajiv, I hav 4k wid me..2k frm u and 2k frm Samir. Let me know when to x-fer it to ir account.

Updates - 8th Aug- GE Water - Atul

2007-08-09T01:43:00.000+05:30

On 8/8/07, Atul Kumar < > wrote:

Had a discussion with H Bala (Country Head for GE Water, India) late night his time. He has promised to revert by tomorrow on possible help and details. Solar RO equipment is relatively cheaper/easier and within his scope so more feasible and immediate. Can have about 50,000 litre/day capacity so can take take care of 10,000 families at 5 litre/day (conservative). Having couple of these units will be useful. This looks possible and he will be trying to get a financial grant from GE for the same since investment will be within few lacs.

Bigger equipment like Mobile Water will be really expensive (in crores) though can take care of much larger population and might need to be shipped by Aircrafts etc so shipping costs and logistics etc will be huge and has to be a government level initiative even if GE were to provide it just at cost. Also diesel run power supply etc needed.

In case of Solar RO his engineers will take care of installing etc but we need to take care of local logistics like, when and where and govt or reputed NGO will be needed. He has promised to send the details tomorrow morning his time. Bala also shared the experience in Chennai during Tsunami when the equipment and engineers landed but there was nobody to own them and villagers took (GE Engineers) as government and it was a bit chaotic. Hence maybe we can start a discussion with Chanchal Kumar / CK Mishra / Vivek Kumar and relevant senior IAS officers for the same where the solution would work or not. maybe TVS can take a lead with them.

Also if Chandan or someone on ground can give some data on some target "districts" and "population" to be served by these Solar ROs then will help

Bala has also promised that he will buzz his engineers at Jamshedpur and Calcutta for giving a quick status on feasibility and also any help possible from the Tata Group who probably use similar equipment and are his customers and might want to help.

My take is that we should continue with our current efforts at Chlorine etc and take this as an additional/supplemental option. Even if 5-10 districts can get really clean water then we can feel happy. These equipment can take rain water / flood water also as inputs so will be really helpful.

Regards
Atul

Get involved

2007-08-09T01:29:00.000+05:30

Bihar Flood Relief- Contribute your 2 cents

What is our focus? How can I help?

The focus is on providing chlorine and halogen tablets to prevent any epidemic breakout due to contaminated water. Your donations are required for buying these medicines. You can also help us in purchasing these medicines by providing contacts.

How these medicines will be purchased?

We plan to buy these medicines in Mumbai and courier it to Chandan in Patna at the earliest. If you can help us buy these medicines in a better way (Better rates, Local contacts in Patna etc) do contact us at 0-9323473603/ rajiv.vidyarthy@gmail.com/ tanyaprasad@hotmail.com

How these medicines will be distributed?

These medicines will be delivered to Chandan Singh, who is part of One Bihar Team (http://1bihar.blogspot.com/). Chandan will take care of its further distribution. Distribution will be through some of the good NGOs working in the relief operations.

People behind this initiative

This is an initiative driven by people from multiple bihar based yahoogroups. We have executed similar projects in past through these yahoogroups. Some of the projects that we have executed in past can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bihari/files/ and http://1bihar.blogspot.com/

Some of the people behind this initiative are

Atul Kumar (IIM Ahmedabad, AVP, Genpact, USA),

Rajiv Vidyarthy (IIT Delhi, IIM Lucknow, Mumbai),

Chandan Singh (Executive Director, GreenPower),

Tanya Prasad (Mumbai),

Saroj Kumar (Project Manager, based in USA),

Samir Kumar (Research Student in Australia),

Ajit Chouhan (Business Partner, Infosys)

Naveen Sharma (IIT Kgp, Program Manager, Cisco),

TV Sinha (XLRI, Sr VP, Polaris),

Mayank Krishna (Marketing Manager, Pidilite)

.. there are many more names .. You can find more details about these people on www.Orkut.com

Transparency

Your donations will be acknowledged and account statements will be published regularly at the following link, you can track the development by visiting this link.

Donations collected and purchases done till now are displayed here (This document is updated every few hours),

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pgN0IIAemFfn9L2EVRpLIEw

Please provide us some time to include your donations in this list.

How to transfer?

Online –

Transfer your donations to ICICI bank account # 002001019947 (Rajiv Vidyarthy, Powai Branch, Mumbai). Please mention your name in the comments (will help us track) and send an email with the transfer details to Rajiv.vidyarthy@gmail.com, we will send you a confirmation for the same.

Through ICICI bank branches – Go to any ICICI bank and deposit your donations in account number, 002001019947. call Rajiv@9323473603 and inform about the donation.

We can arrange to collect cash/cheque/other bank transfers, call up Rajiv@9323473603 to coordinate.

Donors in US - Transfer your donations to Saroj Kumar's (ex-moderator Bihari Group) BoA account, send him an email with your transfer details at sarojbihar@yahoo.co.in

First Name : Saroj
Last Name : Kumar
A/c #: 18299 40027
zip: 94555
Routing no: 121000358
Bank of America