Laxmi Sabar (40), a tribal woman of Brahmanidei village of Ganjam district, did not know that her house will be ruined in an hour. Phailin came and returned to its destination but it left agonies yet to be addressed.
Though the role of media was laudable for disseminating information on the cyclone and floods to the people, but it did not serve the purpose in many villages like Brahmanidei as they had no information about the havoc. Even after a week of the disaster, they were struggling with their own fate. Laxmi recollects “We had no foods to eat, no clothes to cover our body. Even, we had no utensil to store water.”
The landfall of Phailin and five days of incessant rains had left Odisha in a very desolate situation. The double blow made a trail of damage and destruction to lives and properties of lakhs of population. Women and children became the worst victims in these disasters.
The ground assessment report of Action Aid reveals that over 80 lakh people in 14,514 villages of 12 districts of Odisha were affected and 2, 34,000kutcha houses were partially or totally damaged due to the cyclone and the subsequent floods. 500,000 hectares of agricultural land were destroyed and the losses were estimated to the tune of ` 2,400 crore.
Sources said nearly 2,000 tons of shrimp were washed away in Baleswar and Bhadrak districts. The cyclone inflicted extensive damage in nearly 21 districts. Ganjam district was the worst hit. The total loss to fisheries and shrimp sectors estimated was around `364 crore.
However, the loss is certainly much more than the statistics and even now the people are searching their way to get back to normal life.
Unemployment was the immediate problem and many small businesses were destroyed. The immediate need for the affected populace was to feed their families. Even now, many of the villagers are still struggling with food crisis and malnutrition. Thousands of houses have still remained roofless where the Government needs to work with full pace.
The civil society's response to Phailin and its subsequent floods cannot be glossed over. The European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) extended its support to provide early recovery of the vulnerable populations affected by Phailin and subsequent floods through civil society consortium. ActionAid is leading a consortium and has started the Cash for Work (CFW) initiative in disaster affected areas. The initiative has been designed to include commom people in the scheme whereby they get a daily wage of Rs 150 per head for work such as repairing their own and community houses, land development and rejuvenation of cashew plants in Buguda area of Ganjam district and pond work at both Ganjam and Astaranga blocks of Puri. The initiative has not only centralized to lessen their financial burden but also intended to give back their lost hope and confidence.
Namita Das (45), a woman beneficiary of Satuli village of Ganjam district under CFW scheme, reveals that the initiative has not only enabled the villagers to get work in the distress period but also brought dignity. “Every week, I am getting my cash for work. I am happy that not only do I earn money for my family but also play a part to work for my community,” she says.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has been in place to ensure a hundred days guarantee of paid work in a year. The spirit of the Act is good but it has failed to fulfil the aspirations that are narrated within the Act. There are two major hurdles: one, lack of awareness among people on demand creation for getting work and the other, failure of timely payment of their wages. Months have passed but people in many villages claim that they have not yet received their wages since months. These ground issues create even more acute situation among the people who have recently confronted with badly by cyclone and the subsequent floods. It can therefore be said that the Act has failed to attract people towards its objectives. Especially in cyclone affected areas, the NREGA is a great option and even an innovative approach to resolve people's suffering through giving work to the needy to settle their houses and community resources what has been initiated in the CFW. This can really add value in the lives of those affected people to recover little faster.
It is said that nothing is politically right if it is not right morally. It has got early ground that political parties differ in opinions while deciding the people's agenda and many a times, the concern and demand of the disadvantaged, Dalits and minorities remain unheard of. Four months have passed but changes are yet to take place in the lives of the affected people. Even now, people are struggling every minute for their survival and revival. All that is needed is to team up our effort and answer the worries of the people on war footing.
Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/phailin-victims-still-in-crying-need-of-aid.html
Though the role of media was laudable for disseminating information on the cyclone and floods to the people, but it did not serve the purpose in many villages like Brahmanidei as they had no information about the havoc. Even after a week of the disaster, they were struggling with their own fate. Laxmi recollects “We had no foods to eat, no clothes to cover our body. Even, we had no utensil to store water.”
The landfall of Phailin and five days of incessant rains had left Odisha in a very desolate situation. The double blow made a trail of damage and destruction to lives and properties of lakhs of population. Women and children became the worst victims in these disasters.
The ground assessment report of Action Aid reveals that over 80 lakh people in 14,514 villages of 12 districts of Odisha were affected and 2, 34,000kutcha houses were partially or totally damaged due to the cyclone and the subsequent floods. 500,000 hectares of agricultural land were destroyed and the losses were estimated to the tune of ` 2,400 crore.
Sources said nearly 2,000 tons of shrimp were washed away in Baleswar and Bhadrak districts. The cyclone inflicted extensive damage in nearly 21 districts. Ganjam district was the worst hit. The total loss to fisheries and shrimp sectors estimated was around `364 crore.
However, the loss is certainly much more than the statistics and even now the people are searching their way to get back to normal life.
Unemployment was the immediate problem and many small businesses were destroyed. The immediate need for the affected populace was to feed their families. Even now, many of the villagers are still struggling with food crisis and malnutrition. Thousands of houses have still remained roofless where the Government needs to work with full pace.
The civil society's response to Phailin and its subsequent floods cannot be glossed over. The European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) extended its support to provide early recovery of the vulnerable populations affected by Phailin and subsequent floods through civil society consortium. ActionAid is leading a consortium and has started the Cash for Work (CFW) initiative in disaster affected areas. The initiative has been designed to include commom people in the scheme whereby they get a daily wage of Rs 150 per head for work such as repairing their own and community houses, land development and rejuvenation of cashew plants in Buguda area of Ganjam district and pond work at both Ganjam and Astaranga blocks of Puri. The initiative has not only centralized to lessen their financial burden but also intended to give back their lost hope and confidence.
Namita Das (45), a woman beneficiary of Satuli village of Ganjam district under CFW scheme, reveals that the initiative has not only enabled the villagers to get work in the distress period but also brought dignity. “Every week, I am getting my cash for work. I am happy that not only do I earn money for my family but also play a part to work for my community,” she says.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has been in place to ensure a hundred days guarantee of paid work in a year. The spirit of the Act is good but it has failed to fulfil the aspirations that are narrated within the Act. There are two major hurdles: one, lack of awareness among people on demand creation for getting work and the other, failure of timely payment of their wages. Months have passed but people in many villages claim that they have not yet received their wages since months. These ground issues create even more acute situation among the people who have recently confronted with badly by cyclone and the subsequent floods. It can therefore be said that the Act has failed to attract people towards its objectives. Especially in cyclone affected areas, the NREGA is a great option and even an innovative approach to resolve people's suffering through giving work to the needy to settle their houses and community resources what has been initiated in the CFW. This can really add value in the lives of those affected people to recover little faster.
It is said that nothing is politically right if it is not right morally. It has got early ground that political parties differ in opinions while deciding the people's agenda and many a times, the concern and demand of the disadvantaged, Dalits and minorities remain unheard of. Four months have passed but changes are yet to take place in the lives of the affected people. Even now, people are struggling every minute for their survival and revival. All that is needed is to team up our effort and answer the worries of the people on war footing.
Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/phailin-victims-still-in-crying-need-of-aid.html
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