Then and now.

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

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

Some pix, taken at the Circle office, Gaighat

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pics from Gaighat -2

Pics from Gaighat -1

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

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

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

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

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

Folks,

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

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

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

Already distributed:

1. Polythene Sheet : 3 no. of roll (or 240 feet) to Dr. Ravi Verma, for distribution from Bhagalpur.
2. Chlorine Tablets; 10 boxes of 1000 tabs each Dr. Ravi Verma, for distribution from Bhagalpur.
3. 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

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.

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

Folks,

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

Medicines:

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

Polythene sheets(courtesy Mr MM Verma)

8 bundles (20x2)meters double layer

Given to Dr.Ravi;

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

These medications are supposed to reach tomorrow;

1. Metrogyl,
2. Antibiotics,
3. 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

1. Chlorine tabs...more..more
2. Clotrimazole anti fungal antibacterial dusting powder*
3. Oral re hydration salts( ORS)
4. Boric powder( dusting)
5. 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