Showing posts with label Bihar Flood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bihar Flood. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Thursday, October 25, 2007
BIHAR, India, 24 October 2007 – Sita Devi was the first woman to give birth at the newly established facility known as the ‘maternity hut’ at the Bargamaghachi camp in Samastipur. For over a month, Bargamaghachi has been home to more than 600 families from six villages as they wait for the floodwaters to recede so they can return to their homes.
In a unique initiative to ensure that pregnant women have access to proper medical care during that time, UNICEF and the Government of Bihar set up a maternity facility to provide care for expectant mothers.
As the first new mother in the camp, Sita was awarded $250 by the Chief Minister of Bihar, Janani Suraksha Yojana.
“It is already a blessing that my wife was in good hands during delivery. The $250 was a most fortunate surprise,” said Sita’s husband.
Floods' impact on maternal mortality
Since the opening of the ‘maternity hut’, six other women have had their babies delivered at the Bargamaghachi camp, where they have received professional care and cash incentives for using the facility. Another 76 pregnant women have also received antenatal care, including counselling, vaccinations, and vitamin and mineral supplements.
“I wasn’t as scared as my earlier deliveries at home with just the midwife and neighbours. I was much more relaxed this time,” said Manju Devi, 26, who delivered her third child at the maternity hut.
The maternal mortality rate for Bihar is among the highest in the country, with 371 deaths for every 100,000 live births. Only 34.1 per cent of pregnant women in the entire state receive any form of antenatal care.
“The population is susceptible to superstitions and taboos, which makes it even more urgent for pregnant women to receive maternal care,” noted UNICEF project officer Dr. Sherin Varkey. “Considering the low rates of antenatal care in Bihar, we were very concerned about how they would be further impacted during the floods.”
Relief for outpatients
Each maternity hut is staffed with four auxiliary nurse midwives, four paramedics and three doctors, and equipped with basic medical equipment and furniture. Electricity is provided by an onsite generator
“Our facility is very well maintained. We have all the supplies that are needed to ensure safe deliveries,” said auxiliary midwife Shakuntala Devi, who has assisted three births.
The maternity hut also has an outpatient department where health workers offer diagnoses and prescribe medications for everything ranging from diarrhoea to skin infections, which are common during floods. More than 1,160 patients have been treated at this camp alone.
“Being able to deliver in a hygienic environment, attended by a skilled birth attendant, could mean the difference between life and death for both the mother and the child,” said UNICEF Representative in Bihar Bijay Rajbhandari.
In a unique initiative to ensure that pregnant women have access to proper medical care during that time, UNICEF and the Government of Bihar set up a maternity facility to provide care for expectant mothers.
As the first new mother in the camp, Sita was awarded $250 by the Chief Minister of Bihar, Janani Suraksha Yojana.
“It is already a blessing that my wife was in good hands during delivery. The $250 was a most fortunate surprise,” said Sita’s husband.
Floods' impact on maternal mortality
Since the opening of the ‘maternity hut’, six other women have had their babies delivered at the Bargamaghachi camp, where they have received professional care and cash incentives for using the facility. Another 76 pregnant women have also received antenatal care, including counselling, vaccinations, and vitamin and mineral supplements.
“I wasn’t as scared as my earlier deliveries at home with just the midwife and neighbours. I was much more relaxed this time,” said Manju Devi, 26, who delivered her third child at the maternity hut.
The maternal mortality rate for Bihar is among the highest in the country, with 371 deaths for every 100,000 live births. Only 34.1 per cent of pregnant women in the entire state receive any form of antenatal care.
“The population is susceptible to superstitions and taboos, which makes it even more urgent for pregnant women to receive maternal care,” noted UNICEF project officer Dr. Sherin Varkey. “Considering the low rates of antenatal care in Bihar, we were very concerned about how they would be further impacted during the floods.”
Relief for outpatients
Each maternity hut is staffed with four auxiliary nurse midwives, four paramedics and three doctors, and equipped with basic medical equipment and furniture. Electricity is provided by an onsite generator
“Our facility is very well maintained. We have all the supplies that are needed to ensure safe deliveries,” said auxiliary midwife Shakuntala Devi, who has assisted three births.
The maternity hut also has an outpatient department where health workers offer diagnoses and prescribe medications for everything ranging from diarrhoea to skin infections, which are common during floods. More than 1,160 patients have been treated at this camp alone.
“Being able to deliver in a hygienic environment, attended by a skilled birth attendant, could mean the difference between life and death for both the mother and the child,” said UNICEF Representative in Bihar Bijay Rajbhandari.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Strength in numbers after Bihar floods
ere is a saying that it takes a great tragedy to bring a people together, and it couldn't be truer for northern Bihar.
Six weeks after some of the most severe flooding to hit this part of the subcontinent, thousands of people, extended families and communities, are huddled together on embankments and roads, often with their livestock - all sharing the same space, and trying to stay clear of the rising water.
Many of them keep an eye on each other's livestock, homes, and belongings, and share what little they have amongst themselves. Women tend to their neighbours' children when the men have to tend to other matters, which right now means going to the distribution points for relief materials.
More than 2 million continue to be affected across 20 districts of Bihar in northeastern India and about 300,000 people are living outdoors or in more than 1,000 temporary camps. To date, Bihar has recorded 539 deaths.
Surrounded by the Burhi Gandak and Bagmati Rivers on either side, these areas in Muzaffarpur begin flooding with the onset of the monsoon - and remain water-logged until the very end.
En route from Samastipur, after monitoring UNICEF's maternity health camps and community kitchens, we drive for two hours along low-lying roads, until we arrive at Kwahi Chowk. We're told the road ahead is completely submerged for the next 12 kilometres.
We count more than 60 trucks on this peninsula in the middle of nowhere. The majority of them are transporting grain and other relief items from the government, destined for the neighbouring district of Sitamarhi. We notice a smaller truck with a UNICEF sticker - the driver tells us that he's carrying educational materials. He's been stuck here since yesterday afternoon when the roads went under.
Everyone from the nearby settlements has either moved or is in the process of moving onto this stretch of the road. Men smoke or share khaini, an Indian variety of chewing tobacco, and some women have set up small stalls right under the trucks, selling everything from eggs to candy to vegetables. Across from them, the bigger traders sell potatoes, lentils and rice. It's amazing to note how life goes on despite the hardships and uncertainties all around them.
"This is the fourth time that we have moved out of our homes this year," says Akhilesh Sahni a father of four, without a hint of emotion or anger for someone who has spent the better part of the last two months living outdoors.
Boarding a boat, we take up Akhilesh's offer to see how the people in his village are coping. We glide slowly over the brown waters, navigating past bamboo groves and the tops of sugarcane fields, and peer into peoples' homes - almost intrusively.
We row past a group of women in knee-deep water, preparing dinner around a wood-burning stove that has been carefully constructed above the water. Children wave and shout at us, some from raised machans or platforms of bamboo, and a lucky few from the tops of their concrete homes. They smile at us, safe in the ignorance and security that only childhood can provide - and the exceptional ability to find moments of bliss even during the grimmest of times.
Around the stove, Parmila and her neighbours take turns to prepare dinner. "I have to feed six family members and she has to make food for seven," says Parmila, pointing to a woman in a red sari bent over the stove.
Further ahead, we come across a septuagenarian and his grandchildren on a bullock-cart, minus the bullocks. He says he'd returned two days earlier and fears he might be leaving again soon.
We're told that most of the women return during the day, only to check on their belongings and to prepare dinner. By nightfall, everyone's back on the embankment where it's dry and safe, especially from the snakes that come out at night. Only the fortunate few that live in concrete houses are willing to take the risk and stay back.
On the return journey the boat stops for two women - a grandmother named Sonamati and her neighbour Nirmala. Shy at first because talking to male strangers is not really encouraged in rural Bihar, they tell us they're tired of moving each time the waters rise.
"And to think that we just planted rice yesterday morning," says Sonamati, shaking her head with displeasure. This year, she says, they have been forced to move out six times. "Last year was better - as we only moved thrice!"
This induces laughter from the men on the boat who had been silent for the last hour or so, while we had been preoccupied with our photography and questions to their neighbours.
After alighting from the boat, we catch up with Sonamati who is already pushing past the crowds at Kwahi Chowk. "I'm here to buy food for my family and then I will return tonight," says the timid-looking grandmother.
As if sensing our disbelief, she adds matter-of-factly, "It is Teej (an important Hindu festival for women) in a few days. We have to prepare for that!" And she disappears into the crowd.
On the drive back to Patna, we reflect on the day's events and wonder whether the waters will rise again. Each of us hopes it won't. But even if it does, we know that the fortitude of these people will definitely help them live through this, as it has in the past.
Six weeks after some of the most severe flooding to hit this part of the subcontinent, thousands of people, extended families and communities, are huddled together on embankments and roads, often with their livestock - all sharing the same space, and trying to stay clear of the rising water.
Many of them keep an eye on each other's livestock, homes, and belongings, and share what little they have amongst themselves. Women tend to their neighbours' children when the men have to tend to other matters, which right now means going to the distribution points for relief materials.
More than 2 million continue to be affected across 20 districts of Bihar in northeastern India and about 300,000 people are living outdoors or in more than 1,000 temporary camps. To date, Bihar has recorded 539 deaths.
Surrounded by the Burhi Gandak and Bagmati Rivers on either side, these areas in Muzaffarpur begin flooding with the onset of the monsoon - and remain water-logged until the very end.
En route from Samastipur, after monitoring UNICEF's maternity health camps and community kitchens, we drive for two hours along low-lying roads, until we arrive at Kwahi Chowk. We're told the road ahead is completely submerged for the next 12 kilometres.
We count more than 60 trucks on this peninsula in the middle of nowhere. The majority of them are transporting grain and other relief items from the government, destined for the neighbouring district of Sitamarhi. We notice a smaller truck with a UNICEF sticker - the driver tells us that he's carrying educational materials. He's been stuck here since yesterday afternoon when the roads went under.
Everyone from the nearby settlements has either moved or is in the process of moving onto this stretch of the road. Men smoke or share khaini, an Indian variety of chewing tobacco, and some women have set up small stalls right under the trucks, selling everything from eggs to candy to vegetables. Across from them, the bigger traders sell potatoes, lentils and rice. It's amazing to note how life goes on despite the hardships and uncertainties all around them.
"This is the fourth time that we have moved out of our homes this year," says Akhilesh Sahni a father of four, without a hint of emotion or anger for someone who has spent the better part of the last two months living outdoors.
Boarding a boat, we take up Akhilesh's offer to see how the people in his village are coping. We glide slowly over the brown waters, navigating past bamboo groves and the tops of sugarcane fields, and peer into peoples' homes - almost intrusively.
We row past a group of women in knee-deep water, preparing dinner around a wood-burning stove that has been carefully constructed above the water. Children wave and shout at us, some from raised machans or platforms of bamboo, and a lucky few from the tops of their concrete homes. They smile at us, safe in the ignorance and security that only childhood can provide - and the exceptional ability to find moments of bliss even during the grimmest of times.
Around the stove, Parmila and her neighbours take turns to prepare dinner. "I have to feed six family members and she has to make food for seven," says Parmila, pointing to a woman in a red sari bent over the stove.
Further ahead, we come across a septuagenarian and his grandchildren on a bullock-cart, minus the bullocks. He says he'd returned two days earlier and fears he might be leaving again soon.
We're told that most of the women return during the day, only to check on their belongings and to prepare dinner. By nightfall, everyone's back on the embankment where it's dry and safe, especially from the snakes that come out at night. Only the fortunate few that live in concrete houses are willing to take the risk and stay back.
On the return journey the boat stops for two women - a grandmother named Sonamati and her neighbour Nirmala. Shy at first because talking to male strangers is not really encouraged in rural Bihar, they tell us they're tired of moving each time the waters rise.
"And to think that we just planted rice yesterday morning," says Sonamati, shaking her head with displeasure. This year, she says, they have been forced to move out six times. "Last year was better - as we only moved thrice!"
This induces laughter from the men on the boat who had been silent for the last hour or so, while we had been preoccupied with our photography and questions to their neighbours.
After alighting from the boat, we catch up with Sonamati who is already pushing past the crowds at Kwahi Chowk. "I'm here to buy food for my family and then I will return tonight," says the timid-looking grandmother.
As if sensing our disbelief, she adds matter-of-factly, "It is Teej (an important Hindu festival for women) in a few days. We have to prepare for that!" And she disappears into the crowd.
On the drive back to Patna, we reflect on the day's events and wonder whether the waters will rise again. Each of us hopes it won't. But even if it does, we know that the fortitude of these people will definitely help them live through this, as it has in the past.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Death toll in Bihar floods crosses 500 mark
Over 500 people have perished in the current spell of floods in Bihar with fresh reports of 23 deaths from six flood-hit districts on Monday as nearly 20.5 million people continue to reel under the impact of floods in 20 districts.
State Disaster Management Department sources said 23 more deaths were reported from Darbhanga (09), Samastipur (04), Begusarai (02), East Champaran (04), Madhubani (02) and Muzaffarpur (02) during the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 501.
Darbhanga alone had so far accounted for the largest number of 98 deaths, followed by Samastipur (84), East Champaran (78), Muzaffarpur (51), Khagaria (50) and Begusarai (20).
Rest of the deaths were reported from flood-hit Supaul, West Champaran, Madhubani, Nalanda, Madhepura, Vaishali, Sitamarhi and Katihar districts.
Nearly 20.5 million people of 9,864 villages under 225 blocks were affected by floods in 20 flood-hit districts where standing crops worth over Rs 701.93 crore in 15.88 lakh hectares of land had been damaged, they said.
Besides over 4.01 lakh houses, the value of which was estimated to be Rs 431.52 crore, had been destroyed, they added.
Altogether 6,965 boats have been deployed for providing relief material to the affected people and evacuate the marooned villagers to safer places, sources said.
Around 9,93,470 marooned people had so far been evacuated while 1302 relief camps, 349 cattle camps and 538 medical team were working round-the-clock to provide succour to the flood-hit people, sources said.
The authorities had so far distributed 3,89,143 quintals wheat, 1,90,843 quintals rice, 101 quintals gram, 304.24 quintals salt, 46.55 quintals sattu, 12,723 quintals gur, besides Rs 30.17 crore cash, 1,47,842 match boxes, 1,97,515 candles and 2,30,17 metre polythene sheets among the people affected by floods, they said.
IAF helicopters had airdropped 70,796 ready food packets in the areas inaccessible by roads, they said.
According to Central Water Commission sources, the situation remained grim with some major rivers, though maintaining receding trends, flowing above the danger mark at certain points along their course.
Ganga was flowing 36 cm above the danger mark at Kahalgaon and water level of Burhi Gandak was still above the red mark at Sikandarpur (84 cm), Samastipur (249 cm), Rosera (218 cm) and Khagaria (24 cm).
Similarly, Bagmati was flowing 62 cm and 151 cm above the danger level at Begusarai and Hayaghat and Kosi was above the danger mark at Baltara (134 cm) and Kursela (84 cm), CWC sources said.
According to a report received from Muzaffarpur, a block development office Shailendra Nath, posted in Sakra, was attacked when he along with an additional collector visited Rukanpura village for making assessment of the flood situation.
Nath escaped with minor injury in the attack, the report said, adding an FIR was lodged with the Sakra police station against some people, including Ashok Rai, a ward councillor, in this connection.
State Disaster Management Department sources said 23 more deaths were reported from Darbhanga (09), Samastipur (04), Begusarai (02), East Champaran (04), Madhubani (02) and Muzaffarpur (02) during the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 501.
Darbhanga alone had so far accounted for the largest number of 98 deaths, followed by Samastipur (84), East Champaran (78), Muzaffarpur (51), Khagaria (50) and Begusarai (20).
Rest of the deaths were reported from flood-hit Supaul, West Champaran, Madhubani, Nalanda, Madhepura, Vaishali, Sitamarhi and Katihar districts.
Nearly 20.5 million people of 9,864 villages under 225 blocks were affected by floods in 20 flood-hit districts where standing crops worth over Rs 701.93 crore in 15.88 lakh hectares of land had been damaged, they said.
Besides over 4.01 lakh houses, the value of which was estimated to be Rs 431.52 crore, had been destroyed, they added.
Altogether 6,965 boats have been deployed for providing relief material to the affected people and evacuate the marooned villagers to safer places, sources said.
Around 9,93,470 marooned people had so far been evacuated while 1302 relief camps, 349 cattle camps and 538 medical team were working round-the-clock to provide succour to the flood-hit people, sources said.
The authorities had so far distributed 3,89,143 quintals wheat, 1,90,843 quintals rice, 101 quintals gram, 304.24 quintals salt, 46.55 quintals sattu, 12,723 quintals gur, besides Rs 30.17 crore cash, 1,47,842 match boxes, 1,97,515 candles and 2,30,17 metre polythene sheets among the people affected by floods, they said.
IAF helicopters had airdropped 70,796 ready food packets in the areas inaccessible by roads, they said.
According to Central Water Commission sources, the situation remained grim with some major rivers, though maintaining receding trends, flowing above the danger mark at certain points along their course.
Ganga was flowing 36 cm above the danger mark at Kahalgaon and water level of Burhi Gandak was still above the red mark at Sikandarpur (84 cm), Samastipur (249 cm), Rosera (218 cm) and Khagaria (24 cm).
Similarly, Bagmati was flowing 62 cm and 151 cm above the danger level at Begusarai and Hayaghat and Kosi was above the danger mark at Baltara (134 cm) and Kursela (84 cm), CWC sources said.
According to a report received from Muzaffarpur, a block development office Shailendra Nath, posted in Sakra, was attacked when he along with an additional collector visited Rukanpura village for making assessment of the flood situation.
Nath escaped with minor injury in the attack, the report said, adding an FIR was lodged with the Sakra police station against some people, including Ashok Rai, a ward councillor, in this connection.
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