Bhubaneswar: Foundation for Sustainable Development and Climate Action (FSDCA) distributed some relief material in the Parala and Kurujanga villages of Kuanpada Panchayat and Bantali village in Bantaligram Panchayat under Gop block of Puri district last Sunday. Several houses of these two villages are completely damaged by the Fani cyclone and the current supply is yet to be restored. People have made makeshift arrangement to live.
“Keeping the need of people in mind, we gave sleeping mat, mosquito net and a solar light to them. As there is no electricity in the area, people are sleeping in open. A mosquito net will save them from mosquito biting.” Narrates Ashok Dash, board member of the NGO. “We also provided some sanitary napkins to the girls and women in the village” adds Bijayini Mohanty of the NGO. A total of 212 families have been given the relief material.
Some Non-Resident Odia (NRO) living in the United States voluntarily made donations to support the people living in distress after the Fani cyclone that hit the Odisha coat on May 3. s
Soumya Mohanty, who lives in Virginia province of United States, said “I have been staying in US for more than a decade with my husband. We always look forward to the opportunities of “Giving Back” to our state. When our people were devastated by the dreadful Fani cyclone, we rose to the occasion, contributed and also collected some donations from our friends and neighbours and sent to support our people back in the state. I particularly requested the said NGO to provide sanitary napkins to the girls and women, as this is an important requirement. Post-cyclone, as houses are damages, the clothes in home get dirty which women traditionally use during their menstruation. Using this can cause havoc to their health, particularly the girls and young women, who would not speak up about their requirements due to cultural reasons.” “I thank my friends Gati and Lali, Reema and Sudhir, Sansaya and Rita, Partha and Pallabi, Raja and Rosy and Debasish who donated for the cause. Given the quantum of loss, this is very small support to the families. We urge the government to immediately provide support to restore their houses and sources of livelihood.”
Sudarshan Bhoi, a villager says, “We are happy that someone thought of us. Sleeping mat and mosquito nets will be helpful for us when we sleep in night in the open”
The youths in the village managed the distribution of the relief material to the villagers and it was equitably distributed among all the residents.
People have got 50 kg of rice and three thousand rupees as relief since the cyclone hit the district. This is grossly insufficient for the families to survive. As houses of poor families, mostly the schedule caste people and also some general caste people are damaged; people are facing a lot of difficulties in this rainy season. The authorities have done surveys of the house damage, but nothing has come up except a small polythene sheet. People also have lost their crops and other sources of livelihood.
The local people demand a cyclone shelter in their village apart from support for building houses and livelihood.
Comments are closed.