Uttarakhand Relief Work

This post is also available in: हिन्दी

I have been receiving reports of what our volunteers have been doing to bring relief to the tragedy-struck region of Uttarakhand. I wanted to share an overview of the tremendous work being done.

  • 100 trucks of relief material from various parts of the country have been sent to Uttarakhand
  • A team of about 300 volunteers has been working in different areas of the region.
  • They have been working with the para-military forces and the Disaster Management Team assisting them in rescue operations.
  • Apart from gathering and distributing food material, medicines and other essentials, they are also engaged in conducting trauma-relief camps for survivors. Conditions have been tough to carry out operations due to the scale of the calamity and difficult weather.
  • Volunteers have also helped bridge the communication gap where stranded survivors don’t understand the reasons behind the delay in their rescue, allaying fears and keeping spirits high.
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Swami Divyanand and Swami Vishwachaitanya are coordinating relief operations in Uttarakhand.

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Jolly Grant airport, Dehradun was the transit point where survivors were brought after rescue via choppers. Volunteers helped the IAF and Disaster Management Team in dispatching supplies and counselling the survivors.

aircraft

Loading relief material in the helicopters

medical

Teams of doctors put up medical camps assisted by volunteers

aid

Supporting survivors who need care and attention

supply

Many youngsters have come forward and carried food supplies and other relief material to disconnected villages. The survivors in these villages were families of tour guides waiting for them to come back. All their belongings, including livestock had been washed away. These youngsters formed teams and reached many such inaccessible villages and gathered groups of villagers to come and take supplies from these makeshift supply points.

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There is a shortage of covered storage area for the supplies.

cleaning

Helping clear out the debris from houses

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De-stressing session for BRO GREF personnel, who are involved in rebuilding damaged roads.

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Non-stop rescue work caused stress and fatigue in the armed forces personnel. Meditation sessions helped rejuvenate them continue their work with more energy.

ME Negotiating a landslide...

The terrain to reach villages in the upper terrain is extremely tough as roads have been entirely destroyed.

So far, relief camps have been setup in Rishikesh, Rudraprayag, Dharasu, Saigul (Tehri), Chinyali, Guptkashi, Srinagar, Harsil, Kharabi, Gochar, Chandrapuri, Hanumanchetti, Uttarkashi, Rana Chetti, Srikot, Agastyamuni, Ukhimath, Kund, Arkhund, Kotma, Sonprayag, Triyugi Narayan, Athali, Tilwara and Mathali. After the evacuation, roads are being cleared up to reach places that have been cut-off all these days. The challenge is to reach supplies to these places and also to reassure the survivors to come and fetch supplies from camps because the distance is several kilometers and accessibility is hard even with mules.

Everybody involved – the armed forces, NGOs and volunteers, overcome many challenges on a daily basis in this operation. Their efforts and spirit remind us that there is a lot of goodness in society. Those of you who would like to go to Uttarakand and volunteer may contact

Shweta Golani – 9837246264

Bhartendu Sethi – 9896790734

Vijay Radadia – 9327387873.

This post is also available in: हिन्दी

More Comments

  1. Pratik

    Hello,

    We indians in Australia has also collected 140,000 in donation. And looking for a suitable NGO/group who can use this in relief activity.

    Only the condition is… they have to provide us all the artefects (purchase receipts, addresses where help delivered with photos). So that we can go back to our donors with the proof.

    Thanks.

    Reply
    1. neeraj kohli

      AOL is the largest volunteer based NGO. I am handling uttrakhand relief work as a full time international faculty. Have given trauma relief workshops to rescued tourists and Disaster Management Teams. Pictures available above. Also we have distributed material relief and organised medical camps.You can contact me at 9971356663 for more details regarding your donation request. You can see more pics on FB handle Neeraj Kohli album “a story untold, uttrakhand relief:.

      Reply
  2. Srinivas.Addla

    I am a public (do not want to say Government) servant and have donated one day salary into the Prime Minister’s relief fund. I request other to kindly donate their one day earnings to the cause through AOL

    Reply
  3. KP Padmanabhan

    All those who are able to contribute in whatever manner they can should rise to the occasion and do some thing for the needy. This will earn them the grace .

    Reply
  4. usha Girish

    Jai Gurudev to all

    Guruji’s blessings and energy gives strength and motivates to do all seva work.

    Reply
  5. Ravi Chugh

    Great Job done by Art Of Living Volunteers under the guidance of Param Poojya Gurudev that too without any media hassle…. Seva for the sole purpose of seva only….Jai Gurudev…..

    Reply
  6. Lila Lamichhane

    Great work. Jai Guru Dev to the energy of the Master who is along with all the loving and caring volunteers. Jai Gurudev!

    Reply
  7. SASIREKHA KAMBHAMPATI

    JAI GURU DEV. It is really a great work done by ART OF LIVING volunteers at Uttara Khand. With the blessings of GURUJI any seva reaches to the victims of any disaster that happens in this planet.

    Reply
  8. Jyoti Desai

    Jai Gurudev,Thank you all for helping people in affected areas.Not. Only saving their lifes and giving them supplies but supporting them emotionally and helping them stand back and fight.Long live Gurudev

    Reply

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