| In Focus |
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 Dark Waters
Bihar flood victims in desperate need of relief
Earlier this year, a natural disaster in India caused devastation on such a massive scale that it will take years to recover from. On August 18, due to a breach in the embankment at Kusaha in Nepal, the Kosi river changed its course after nearly 200 hundred years. It’s suddenly unleashed force swamped hundreds of villages in Bihar and destroyed more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of farmland. Over one million cattle were affected by the floods. Villagers tell stories of how the waters filled up with the stench of dead animals - and the smell of despair for those who depended on livestock and dairy farming for survival. In the struggle to hold on to their belongings and livestock, many refused to be evacuated to camps, and lost their lives. The number of dead probably runs into thousands and will emerge once all the bodies are recovered. The floods have displaced an estimated 35 lakh people, who are now scattered across 300 relief camps in the flood- affected areas.
Mika, from AG group, remembers the devastation he saw around him when he first arrived in Bihar. "One family told me how they saw a school building with 50 people on the roof. They watched helplessly as the building collapsed and everybody drowned," he recalls in horror. "One family stayed on the roof of a three- floor building for 18 days. They lost everything they had," he continues. "But now they are in a camp in Purnea."
"We met another man in the relief camps. He had been in the fields with his son when the wave of water came. The power of the water was so strong that he lost his son. He didn’t speak for two weeks after that. He just sat there silently, in the camp, thinking of his son and muttering to himself. After two weeks, the boy was found and they were reunited. They were happy. But now other worries have set in. They don’t know what they can return to."
Many in the relief camps share a similar feeling. They have lost everything--houses, animals, fields—and are anguished about what they will do now. "All they have are the clothes on their backs,” Mika says. "The place is still full of water. Everywhere, small boats bursting with people ply to and from relief camps. People are begging for plastics, food, water and medicines."
Early on, officials admitted that they did not have enough boats or resources to step up relief operations. The situation has not improved much. People in the camps are in severe need of food and clean water. "Without food and clean water the catastrophe will get bigger," he says. "They can’t survive without help. Clean water and good health care are the most urgent needs at the moment. There is a severe shortage of doctors. In one camp of 17,000 people, they had only 1 doctor!"
Without proper healthcare, there is the danger of epidemic outbreaks. Women are the most vulnerable and many have died giving birth in these dismal conditions. Many young mothers, suckling their newborns, remain hungry and bereft of medical aid. They have to stand in queues for relief material within a few hours of childbirth.
Meanwhile, waiting and deprivation has begun to take its toll on the people. It has been more than a month since the Kosi devastated their homes and lives and many have still not received adequate relief measures. They are tired and angry. News reports are filtering in about how desperate for food and drinking water, flood victims in places like Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul are blocking highways, attacking officials and looting relief material. Mika says, "People are so desperate that they are beginning to steal from incoming relief packages. They block the roads and grab goods. It is sad. But this is going to happen if they do not receive relief soon."
The other pitfall is education. Thousands of primary and middle schools have been damaged or completely razed. Officials claim that the cost of reinstating the physical infrastructure will run into crores—a cost that may prove too high for Bihar’s children. Many children in the relief camps have missed valuable months of education and continue to do so. Even once the schools are reopened, parents will find it difficult to afford to send their children back to school. Bihar, never very high on the development scale, now has to ensure that the 6.17 lakh students displaced by the floods, can go back to their education. This is no small task.
Since September 12, Fida has been supporting to provide relief in villages in the Saharsa district of Bihar. So far, the project has provided 800 relief packages consisting of rice, pulses, soybeans, candles, water purifiers, soaps and towels. Currently, there are plans to start rehabilitation and community health programs in the villages here.
References:
India: In Bihar, Women Under the Curse of the Kosi, News Blaze, 7 Oct 2008
Bihar flood victims loot relief material, Hindustan Times, 7 Oct 2008
Bihar flood takes a toll on education, India Today, 8 Oct 2008
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