Krishna Floods October 2009

An Appeal for Relief

The floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states in September – October, 2009, described as the worst flood in 100 years have displaced thousands of people and resulted in the loss of lives, livelihoods and livestock. Agriculture was majorly damaged. The total loss estimated by the Government of India is Rupees 220 billion. The small artisans, agricultural labourers, riverline fisherfolk, poor and the marginalized communities are the worst affected.Children, women, differently abled, elderly and people with special needs are all caught up in the trauma, as a result of the gamut of floods that destroyed their lives and hopes. In Andhra Pradesh, where Arthik Samata Mandal is functioning, the wrath of floods have left 63 dead, affecting, 16,00,000 people in 87 mandals from 565 villages in Krishna, Guntur, Mahabubnagar, Kurnool and Nalgonda Districts.

In this situation, humanitarian assistance and rehabilitation activities can play an important role in helping the disaster victims to cope with the situation. Children, women (specifically pregnant and lactating mothers), differently-abled, elderly and other people with special needs are very badly affected as they are experiencing one of the fiercest floods in 100 years in Andhra Pradesh.

The governments foresee greater flooding if the coming monsoons are severe as the present water level in most of the villages has not yet receded. As the communities were caught off guard with the floods, it had created a ripple effect by destroying their livelihoods, livestock and structural damages to their houses, thereby further pulling the communities further into the debt trap. In order to come out of the debt trap, people either migrate permanently, or involve children in labour work and as a desperate source of income women and adolescent girls are forced into prostitution and in many cases, girl children are dropped out of schools to marry them off at an early age. In order to curtail the ripple effect, Arthik Samata Mandal is planning to address the comprehensive needs of the people.

Needs of the Flood Victims:

Please extend your support towards flood relief in meeting the following needs of the people. ASM recognizes and implements the Sphere Global Standards for Disaster Response in its relief efforts, so as to promote ‘relief with dignity’ and adheres to the Red Cross Code of Conduct.  The following needs will help to build back better, the social, economic and geographic conditions of the affected communities and that their human rights are realized.

Immediate Needs: (Needed for the next one-month)

·         Drinking Water

·         Access Roads

·         Emergency Toilets

·         Hygiene and Dignity Kits

·         Health Camps

·         First Aid Kits

·         Non Food Items (Rice, Dal, Cooking Oil, Spices, Tamarind, Potatoes etc)

·         Temporary Shelter (Tarpaulin Sheets etc)

·         Mobility Kits to the disabled (clutches, tri-cycles etc)

Medium/Long Term Needs:

·        Support of educational aids (books, pencils, etc)

·         Revival of livelihoods through developing alternative livelihood options

·        Agricultural Revival (Seeds, fertilizers etc)

·        Irrigation facilities (pump sets, pipelines etc)

·        Livestock and milch animals support

·        House repair/construction

·        Toilet repair/construction

·        Bund repair/construction

·        Tree plantations on the bunds and around the villages.

Your donations would help to rebuild lost hopes of the flood victims. Kindly send your donations to:

ARTHIK SAMATA MANDAL

Atheist Centre, Benz Circle, Vijayawada 520010, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA

Ph: +91 866 2476464 / 2472330 / 2493830; Mob: +91 9848023663.

Email: arthiksamata@yahoo.com

Pls: If you are sending a DD/Cheque, mention in favour of “Arthik Samata Mandal”