- Support for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
of Displaced Families by Super Cyclone Orissa, 29-30, October, 1999.
2) Invitation for Volunteers to work with us for rehabilitation and reconstruction programme for super cyclone victims.
You would be shocked to know that a Super Cyclonic storm occurred at Bay of Bengal on 29.10.99 has washed away thousands and thousands houses in numerous villages of Coastal Orissa in Eastern India. The damages caused to life and property in the villages of Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore districts of Orissa is beyond imagination. This is the most fatal and devastating National Calamity of this century, that no body can ever imagine. It is estimated approximately 3 million people have rendered homeless and 1.5 crore people have been affected. More than 90 percent villages are submerged in water 10ft to 15ft deep. After cyclone the syndromes of famine and flood have horrified the life of flood victims. After aerial survey the Government of India have declared the calamity and defence personnel have been deployed to operate emergency relief work at different affected districts. This calamity was worst and more damaging than legendary famine occurred 57 years back. At his stage, it is not possible to estimate the exact quantum of damage caused to life and property.
Orissa state has been ravaged by two consecutive cyclones and flood of unprecedented magnitude, unknown in the recent memory. The Super Cyclone with a wind speed upto 300 km. per hour accompanied by torrential rain, flood and high ridal waves caused widespread devastation of both public and private properties, rendering more than 1.5 crores people homeless without food, shelter and water, besides causing loss of thousands of precious human lives and cattle population.
The devastation brought by the Orissa super cyclone on 29th Oct'99 in the most horrible in living memory. Some 10 million families have been uprooted and the number of death in truly beyond estimatable limits. 10 districts of Orissa are affected and remained without power for almost 10 days. Rural areas are without power till date. Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur district are worst affected district among the total affected districts. No link could be established from capital even after 72 hours of the calamity. Official estimates said 13,26,025 houses have been damaged and crop has been damaged in 15,70,218 hectors. Animal death counting upto 3,51,979 till 15th Nov'99. In all ten districts 101 blocks and 26 urban local bodies have been devastated by the severe cyclone.
Jagatsinghpur district is the worst affected district in the state. All the eight blocks of the district has been severely affected due to this super cyclone. Cattle population in the district has been reduced by more than one lakh. 39 villages of Ersama block have been vanished due to 20mt. tidal wave. Worse hit Ersama block gets the distinction of having highest number of affected children which figure crossing 5,23,000. Nearly 20000 people have lost their lives in Ersama block alone. Five out of eight blocks have been cut off from main land for a week. Water in Paradeep and Kujang of the district has been polluted to such an extent that spread panic for skin diseases in the area. total death toll in the district is around 30,000 though official figure is quite below the un official estimation. People have died due to malnutrition after the cyclone. All the area in the district is not accessible till date. People of Ersama are living on leaves, roots till 15th Nov' 99 as the relief materials are yet to reach to the people. In accessibility poses severe difficulty in actual estimation of loss of life and property. One cannot hear the plight of the people of those areas. All thatched houses razed to the ground, lakhs of people are living under open sky without food for over a week.
We are acting as a coordinating NGO for Desaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Group (ODREG) a consortium of 14 NGOs working in six affected districts of the State. The survey is being undertaken in worst affected Marsaghai and Mahakalapara Blocks of Kendrapara District Ersama and Balikuda Blocks of Jagatsinghpur District. The devastation has caused serious damaged which will take a long time to rebuilt what has been lost. The rehabilitation and reconstruction interventions will take a long term interventions keeping in a view the local needs problems and aspirations.
Our tentative rehabilitation interventions as developed with the people are to be initiated in three phases.
Phase - I (January 2000-March 2000)
- Support service for kitchen gardening to meet house hold food security.
Phase - II (Two Years)
Short term rehabilitation programme
- Livelihood rehabilitation through micro-enterprise
programme
- Infrastructure development
- Social Forestry and Environment
- Empowerment of women farmers
- Food for work
Phase - III (Five Years)
Long term rehabilitation programme
- Cyclone Shelter
- Housing
- Health and Sanitation
- Agriculture
- Empowerment of women
- Repair of Schools
- Agricultural Rehabilitation
We are now preoccupied in developing appropriate rehabilitation and reconstruction interventions organising participatory survey with the beneficiaries. The action plan proposal will be ready by end of December 1999. I invite you to visit us and share your humantarian feelings visiting the devastated project villages. We have involved the network the 35 SHGs and prepared them for management and administration of rehabilitation and reconstruction project activities. Besides, we invite volunteers from your esteemed agency to work with us in rehabilitation and reconstruction programme activities. We will provide hospitality and accomodation in our projects office at affected villages.
For more information kindly visit our website is www.ctrdorissa.org
We are going to reconstruct houses for 2000 homeless families by end of December 2000. We seek your kind support of assistance for reconstruction of houses of these homeless families. On hering from you I shall forward you the project proposal.