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Rebuilding Livelihoods - Effect
of Floods on SEWA members. |
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The whole of Gujarat was preparing for a draught.
To everyone's surprise, it rained aplenty in the beginning
of June ‘04. However, the monsoon was playing hide and seek
with the people of Gujarat. From June 7-9th
it seemed that an early monsoon had set in. Later, however,
not even a single drop was visible and farmers worried as
they had already sowed costly seeds.
In view of the perceived draught, all talukas, districts,
government administrators, village people and organizations
were busy working out ways to fight the draught. |
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On 28th July rains started pouring heavily
on the soil of Gujarat. Water of the entire year poured from the skies
within 10 days. But who could have be
ready for such an unexpected and ceaseless downpour?
We started contacting the district offices to inquire
about the current position of SEWA's members. Initially, we
asked about the rainfall, after which we inquired anxiously
about the safety of SEWA's members. |
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To begin with, we received news about Surat's floods. At the same time,
Kavitaben Rathwa, president of Sukhi Mahila SEWA Cooperative,
called from Bodeli saying, “River Heran is overflowing and
houses are submerged in water up to the ceiling. We've already
visited 18 villages and have seen tremendous damage being
caused to houses and crops. We've also found out how many
SEWA members have insurance.” |
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SEWA's district co-coordinator and three organizers
rushed to Bodeli.
As if this was not enough, we got a message from the
Self Employed Farmers Cooperative from Bayad taluka of Sabarkantha
district that the villages have met with disaster due to the
cracking of a lake dam. The coordinator of Sabarkantha district
immediately rushed to Bayad. |
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SEWA organizers and the district association sat down
together to work out solutions to discuss the gravity of the
situation caused by floods in Gujarat.
Meanwhile due to the incessant downpour, damages continued
to mount in villages. Houses were broken, walls were fractured,
and the crops were spoilt. Mosquitoes and insects multiplied
in numbers, resulting in the proliferation of fever, cold
and malaria in local villages. Fungal infections also became
widespread. |
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Flood Damage
Adivasis inhabit the river banks of Heran and Orsan in Pavi
Jetpur and Sankheda talukas of Vadodara district. This area
is also known as the eastern stretch. Heran meets Orsan which
also meets river Narmada. These rivers originate from
Madhya Pradesh.
"Since our rivers are embanked, water does flow
in the village, every monsoon, but not much", say the people
inhabiting the river banks. |
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This
year, however, the river Heran was flooded. Around 6AM, while families were just waking up, water
started flowing into the village households. People rushed
out of their houses and climbed the mountains. The water finally
receded at around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Within 10 hours,
the entire village was wiped out. |
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Mora Dungri is a village in Pavi Jetpur. Here, the
Nayakas and the Tadvis, who are the poorest of the poor, live
on the riverside thanks to a government
funded scheme called Sardar Aawas. Early in the morning Mora Dungri was flooded
As a result, six children were carried away by the water and
drowned and the houses of the Sardar Aawas scheme fell like
a pack of cards. Urgent reevaluation of the houses is required. |
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55 villages of Pavi Jetpur situated on the banks of
River Heran have also been adversely affected by floods. About
400 houses have been washed out and 7000 families have been
severely hit by the floods. Crops of maize, cotton, and pulses
have also been destroyed. Presently, people from neighboring
villages are providing aid for food. |
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BAYAD |
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SEWA has also initiated immediate relief in flood-hit
areas. Dry khichdi, biscuits, tarpaulin, and mattresses have
been distributed in 20 villages of the Pavi Jetpur taluka.
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During relief distribution, people of less affected
villages expressed, 'We have been saved by God. But our neighboring
village has been severely hit by floods. Please conduct relief
distribution work in that village.' It is amazing to see that
humanity is still alive. |
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Bayad, Modasa, and Meghraj talukas of Sabarkantha district
have been severely flood-hit. On 1st August, men
of Demai village of Bayad taluka were engrossed in watching
a cricket match. Suddenly, they saw water engulfing their
houses. They immediately rushed
out of their houses to save their lives. Unfortunately, they
couldn't save any household items. |
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BAYAD |
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A road and a canal were constructed in the village of Takhatpura this very year. Since the
village is situated at a level lower than that of the road
and the canal, flood-water flowed down to submerge the entire
village. |
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BAYD
- DHAKHROL |
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In
Bayal Dhankrol village
of Modasa taluka,
heavy rains accompanied by a cyclone began at 5 in the evening.
Leaders of SEWA say that they shiver at the thought of that
day. Within 17 minutes the entire village was destroyed by
the cyclonic winds and rains. The very next day, the district
coordinator and the leaders of the Farmers Cooperative reached
Bayal Dhankrol to inquire about the safety of SEWA members. |
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BAYAD |
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According to Shardaben, leader of Aamoda, 'A group
of 50 members of SEWA from Aamoda prepared tea and breakfast
and reached Bayal Dhankrol at 8 in the morning. As soon as
we reached, the resident women started crying terribly.
In fact one woman had a 4 day old baby and she was
worried about how her child would survive. Later, however,
all the women felt more relieved, since we stood by them during
these trying times.
Similarly Sharmishthaben, the leader of Farmers Cooperative
commented, “As soon as I heard about the seriousness of the
situation, I decided to go to Bayal Dhankrol. Earlier, I had
gone there to train the women for organization and had encouraged
them to become members.” Sharmishthaben has been persistently
visiting the members of SEWA in Bayal Dhankrol. The government
and other organizations that visit the village for relief
distribution are kept well-informed by her.
Scientific reasons of what happened during the disaster
are worth knowing as a similar calamity had occurred in three
different villages on three consecutive days. For instance,
why and what changes occurred in the air pressure and such
other factors need to be researched so that a similar disaster
can be detected earlier.
40 villages have been flood-hit and 325 houses have
been destroyed in the district of Sabarkantha. Shantaben Vasava
of Sathamba village says, “At 4 in the morning, rains started
pouring inside my home. Bricks were falling out from the walls.
My husband was injured in the back, as a brick fell on him.
But I am happy that my daughter who is expecting a baby is
safe and sound.”
The elders of Bayal Dhankrol say that they haven't
experienced anything this grave in the last 50 years. According
to the Patels of the village, clouds enveloped by cyclonic
winds came down and crashed heavily on earth. Lightening also
hit the farms, killing cattle and other livestock..
People also feel that Hanuman Dada is cross on them, since
the Hanuman temple, inclusive of its flag, has remained intact
despite the disaster.
About 75 houses have been grounded by floods in the
districts of Kheda and Anand. This however, did not deter
SEWA's members and Kheda district leaders from rushing to
help people in Pavi Jetpur. Moreover, the collector's office
had given a prior warning to the villages located on the river
banks of Kheda district and hence these villages were saved
from further loss of life and goods. |
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BAYAD |
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| The government has granted a cash dole worth Rs. 150/-
per flood-affected person. In addition, a government representative
says that Rs. 1200/- will be granted for loss to household
items and Rs. 25,000/- for damages caused to a house. It is
important that SEWA accompany the government officials while
a survey is being held for the same.
Moving Forward
We discussed this issue with SEWA's women members.
Instantaneously, the members stated that women in the villages
should be encouraged to become members of savings and/or insurance
cooperatives and the employment security fund. While savings
will help members procure loans, insurance will come of help
in the time of calamities. Moreover, if members invest in
employment security, one would not have to take credit for
agricultural purposes. People in every disaster affected village
resolutely decided to join these cooperatives.
Incessant rains have produced filth and slush in the
villages. During the relief distribution meetings, we formed
a village development cooperative in the presence of the Sarpanch.
The cooperative is responsible for village cleanliness and
sanitation, water seepage, paving ways in lanes, and agricultural
tasks for rehabilitation of the village. It is definitely
not the idea of people to simply seek relief, but to re-establish
the village for further development. Subsequently, the village
development cooperative has begun to meet the village requirements
of seeds, fertilizers, agricultural tools, and vaccinations
for animals.
Key Learnings
We got to learn the lesson of genuine social service
and leadership from SEWA's members and leaders of Vadodara,
Sabarkantha, Kheda, and Anand districts. Despite the fact
that their houses have been devastated by floods, they are
committed to their tasks of relief distribution and daily
surveying in the villages. SEWA is proud of her members and
leaders.
While some regions of Gujarat have seen devastatingly heavy
rains, other parts of the state were eagerly waiting for a
few drops of rain. Since 6th August, Kutch, Surendranagar, and Patan
districts of Gujarat have witnessed the initiation of monsoon.
Tanks built for the conservation of water were filled to the
brim in these districts. Lakes and check dams constructed
under the water resources development were also full of water.
3000 household tanks in Patan and Surendranagar were filled
too. In addition, 25 wells were recharged in Gandhinagar and
Patan.
For SEWA, it is crucial to get a distinct picture of
the position of 14 districts in Gujarat and subsequently campaign for savings, insurance,
employment security, water seepage, waste disposal, and conservation
of water.
One learns from this experience that information, education,
and communication programs are crucial to positively reduce
the adverse effects of a disaster.
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