Days after deluge, RF extends relief to 5,000 families in Amreli

 

Unprecedented rainfall of over 650 mm in nine hours had wreaked havoc on the lives of people in the Amreli district of Gujarat. The Reliance Foundation (RF) team working in villages in the Jasdan and Amreli districts wasted no time, quickly assessing the extent of damage in affected areas, and analysing the potential impact.

The situation report was alarming, revealing that villages on both sides of the Shatrunj River were flooded. Hundreds of homes had collapsed, and the countryside was strewn with decomposing carcasses of domesticated and wild animals.

The Gujarat government responded quickly, drafting and implementing an action plan to prevent an epidemic from breaking out. Well-equipped medical teams were flown in, and each village was assigned an ambulance to ensure timely medical intervention wherever required. The concerned electricity departments worked on overdrive to restore electricity, reinstalling electric poles that had fallen and electric lines that had snapped during the deluge.

Having surveyed the extent of damage, the RF team drew up a request to extend material support to residents of the 73 worst-affected villages, many of whom had lost all their belongings.

 

Displaying effective teamwork and networking, RF started relief operations within four days of the disaster, first distributing food and utensils. In just 10 days, the team reached out to 5,000 families in 34 villages in Amreli, providing 5,000 food kits and 2,000 HH kits. Relief operations were called off once the RF team was convinced that the situation had stabilised and sufficient relief materials had reached affected villages.

Their extensive relief work earned RF the goodwill of all in the area, with local communities, officials from the district administration and local MLA Bavku Bhai Udad appreciating the quality, scale and timeliness of their efforts. Local newspapers and publications such as the Amreli Express, Jai Hind, Avadh Times, Divya Bhaskar also captured the work done by RF, and saluted the team’s spirit of service.

Key Highlights of the Relief Operation:

• Relief operations were carried out in coordination with the district administration.
• RF reached affected communities within four days of the disaster.
• RF deployed a thorough programme of identifying the worst-affected villages. This was later acknowledged and appreciated by the district administration as well as Bavku Bhai Udad, the local MLA.
• Village Associations (VAs) from Jasdan volunteered for relief operations, giving food grains and utensils and even joining the workforce distributing them.