Dateline ACT

India 11/05

November 15, 2005

Flood survivors: ‘Give us back our lives’

By Rina Chunder, ACT International

Calcutta, India, November 15, 2005— “We have been suffering this every year for the last 58 years, and we cannot take it anymore,” said the old man, beyond the point of desperation and his voice wavering with suppressed tears. He was speaking to the sub-divisional officer of Egra in East Midnapore district who was out to survey the damages after the October floods in India’s West Bengal.

As in so many places recently, floods here are more a human-caused feature than a natural phenomenon. Dams and check dams built to protect property and in the name of development have had devastating consequences for the poor living in low-lying areas in this flood- and cyclone-prone region.

“But never have I seen a flood of this magnitude in my lifetime,” said 65-year-old Ananda Sashi, whose mud house has been completely destroyed and who is staying with his entire family, including grandchildren, at a relative’s place.

On October 25, there was water up to 16 feet (4.8 meters) in some places, and even 22 days later, many places were still waterlogged - ranging from three to four feet (1-1.2 meters).

“Even where the water has gone down, it is marshy, and there is knee-deep mud. Diarrhea, cough, cold, fever and skin diseases are rampant,” says Rekha Mondal, a mother of two children.

Asked how she survived the floods, Rekha replied, “Where could we go? Where can everybody go? I somehow sat huddled with my children on the bed, which stood raised on some bricks, while the water flowed below. Some days we ate only muri (puffed rice) while on other days I went round to some neighbor in chest-deep water and borrowed rice and pulses, which I cooked over the stove on the bed.”

The plight of others was worse. Some flood survivors climbed up trees to save themselves while their cattle was dragged away in the current and drowned. Others who have lost their homes completely or whose villages are still submerged continue to live on embankments and roads and are being supplied with food from non-governmental organizations and the district administration. The sub-division office ran 12 feeding kitchens for ten days but “we cannot afford it any more,” said the sub-divisional officer. “We are sending back people with seven days’ ration of rice and pulses, though strictly speaking, some of the villages are still not fit to go back.”

“What LWS-India is providing is very essential to us since we have lost our shelter and are living under open sky. So the good-quality polythene [polyethylene] sheets will protect us from the wind and sun,” said an emotional Paran Maity. LWS-India is Lutheran World Service-India, a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.

In addition to the plastic sheeting for shelter, LWSI-ACT has distributed halogen tablets to produce safe drinking water and sanitation materials - bleaching powder and lime dust - to disinfect the waterlogged areas and prevent the spread of waterborne diseases. For malnourished families like Rekha Mondal and her children, LWSI-ACT also distributed high-protein BP-5 biscuits and explained to people how to use them.

The people of Egra subdivision of East Midnapore, where LWSI-ACT is responding, have lost their crops to floods for the third time this year. “We are left with nothing to survive on,” said Parul Das. “We have lost our crops, cattle, [fish] ponds - everything.”

“Don’t give us relief. Give us back our lives. And livelihood. Give us seeds and fertilizers so that we can take up cultivation once again,” said Ananda Sashi.

“And some building materials so that we have the shelter of our homes before winter!” pleaded Paran Maity.

The ACT Coordinating Office will issue Appeal ASIN54 – Assistance to Flood-affected People – shortly for LWSI-ACT’s response to the West Bengal floods. The appeal may be expanded later to include other ACT members in India and other areas. Based on the funds available, LWSI plans to carry out housing rehabilitation, livelihood support and community-based disaster-preparedness activities after the crisis phase to assist the most vulnerable and marginalized in this part of West Bengal.

Rina Chunder is the information/documentation officer for Lutheran World Service – India, a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.