Collection centers, which continue to stay afloat like islets of hope, are assisting the flood-hit get back on their feet in Kerala. These collection centers, spread across Kerala, are literally functioning as the pump houses supplying essential items like food, medicine, clothes, provision and other materials that are pouring in to relief camps and to those who have returned to their homes.
Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadavanthra, which started functioning on August 11 was the official collection centre of Ernakulam district till August last week. In the first phase, medicine, clothes and essentials were despatched to Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Wayanad districts where the rain wreaked havoc in the initial phase. Later, when the flood started devastating many areas in Ernakulam, the collected materials were distributed in the district too. “Within 12 days, we could distribute more than 3,000 tonnes of essential goods and medicines using 540 trucks. About 650-tonne food materials were airdropped,” said A P M Muhammed Hanish, Managing Director of Kochi Metro, who is also the special officer for coordinating relief activities. The essentials despatched from the Kadavanthra centre reached more than four lakh people across Kerala, who are affected by deluge, he said. It was through efficient coordination among various departments and volunteers that we could achieve this, Hanish added.
This has been the case with major collection centres in all districts in Kerala. Relief collection was carried out in all these centres with the help of hundreds of unnamed volunteers, who turned up to help the officials. The overwhelming response from the youth in relief collection activities helped the officials speed up their mission.
“Do you know what you were doing?,” In a video that went viral, Dr K Vasuki, district collector, Thiruvananthapuram, is heard asking the youth who lined up to volunteer relief activities at a collection center in Thiruvananthapuram. After a pause, she explains to an applauding crowd, “You are making history.”
It was surely true when we consider the quantity of materials received at various collection centres and the initiatives taken by unnamed youngsters. Nearly 500 loads of materials were dispatched from Thiruvananthapuram to the flood-hit districts. “Following the heavy rains in Thiruvananthapuram on August 15, many houses were inundated and we had to rehabilitate them to relief camps in the district. We started collection centres with an aim to help those in the camps. But by August 16, it was Central Kerala which was at the receiving end of Nature’s fury. We started receiving news reports of deluge, which inundated even two-storied houses. Then we decided to send food and other materials off to the flood-hit through helicopters,” says Dr Vasuki.
K Muhammed Y Safirulla, district collector, Ernakulam too is all praises for the unnamed volunteers who turned up in thousands at Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium to help the officials. He expressed his gratitude to the volunteers through his official facebook page. “Professionals, film and sports stars, students and people from all walks of life came together to help the distressed. Their selfless efforts are exemplary,” he says in his facebook page. Anbodu Kochi volunteers and the youngsters from National Academy for Pre- Recruitment Training, NSS and NCC too actively took part in the activities at the collection centre. They were guided and led efficiently by two civil service officers, M G Rajamanickyam, former district collector of Ernakulam and Jaffer Malik, additional director, Tourism department at Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium. Once the water receded, the collection centres were shifted to Kakkanad, Paravoor and Aluva in order to facilitate faster distribution.
Contributions from non-resident Keralites and from different places and states poured in at various relief collection centres. Many non-resident Keralites, who were on a holiday in Kerala for the festival of Onam, were seen visiting the collection centres and being part of the rehabilitation and relief activities. Even tourists were part of the huge humanitarian work that was underway in the State. “I came to visit Varkala and it was then that the deluge hit Central Kerala. I wanted to do my bit for Kerala,” said Gricilda, a Spanish national who handed over a kit of food items, medicines and sanitary napkins to the officials at the collection centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
It was 32-tonne rice that was transported to Pathanamthitta on August 26 from collection centre at Palakkad. On the same day 9-tonne sugar, 500 kg onion, 500 kg urad daal and 325 kg daal were transported to Thrissur. A total of 90 kg essential goods have been transported to 10 other districts from Palakkad. “We have transported materials to Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Kottayam and Wayanad. The collection process is on and we distribute things after analysing the need,” said R Renu, deputy collector, who is in charge of collection centre in Palakkad. Apart from this, a total of 8- tonne materials, collected from the district were airdropped using helicopters in the flood-hit regions during the deluge. It was from Palakkad that 25 tonnes of materials were brought to Nelliyampathi too, which was marooned during the heavy rain.
Collection centers across the State are now in the process of preparing special kits for those who are going back home from the relief camps. The State government has promised to distribute special kits consisting of 5 kg rice and other essential items to those returning home from the camps.
The district administrations concerned, with the help of volunteers are collecting and packing materials for distribution. The district administration of Kozhikode has taken up a special initiative in this regard. They could collect a total of 15,000 kits consisting of 10 kg rice and other materials, with the help of more than 1000 volunteers.
Post-flood, it is not only food and dress, but materials essential to sanitise the flood-hit houses too are also collected. Bleaching powder, gloves, disinfectants, lotions, boots, cleaning mops, masks, buckets etc. too were distributed to the needy from various collection centers.