DAYA undertook relief mission ‘Punoruddhar 2021’ in two phases for the people of Sunderbans who were badly affected by the super cyclone “Yash”; the first phase mission was accomplished on 4th June 2021 and the second phase was on 14th June 2021.
From newspaper and television reports we all came to know that people living in the Sundarbans and adjoining areas got rescued as the cyclone ‘Yash’ landed near Balasore in Orissa. However, Durgapur Adda Young Association members received several help call from Sunderbans; some even sent videos and pictures describing the damage which the super cyclone ‘Yash’ has wrecked.
One such call was from Mausuni Island of Sunderban. Reading at the reports in various newspapers and observing the trajectory of cyclone Yash, we also understood that this cyclone has indeed destroyed the island. Realizing that with the limited capacity of our organization (Durgapur Adda Young Association), it is not possible to extend a helping hand to the 3500 families on the island, so we tried to find out more about the devastation there. It was at this time that we came across a news report in Times of India, where they specifically mentioned the names of ‘Bagdanga’ and ‘Paylagheri’ areas and described the plight of the people in these two areas.
DAYA managed to establish contact with the local people there and in its first phase of ‘Punoruddhar 2021’ mission, on June 3, nine member team of the organization, set out with provisions for 500 families. Arriving at Namkhana on the morning of 4th June, the team of members picked up the goods from the truck in 5 big motorized vans and reached the jetty. On the jetty, the goods were shifted to a large material transporting boat. In 30 minutes, crossing the Chinai River we reach Baghdanga on Mausuni Island. At a local school adjacent to the ghat, DAYA members handed over life supporting goods to 229 families.
The rest of the goods were then loaded in 3 motorized vans and the team of DAYA members reached Poyla Gheri locality of the Masuni Island. There, livelihood essentials and accessories were handed over to 271 families.
Each family were given 3 kg of potatoes, 1 kg of onions, 500 gm of sugar- pulses-chidwa- chhatu), 400 gm of soybeans, 100 gm of turmeric, 200 gm of mustard oil, 300 gm biscuit packets, 1 soap and 1 250 gm packet of detergent powdered. 200 packets of 100 gram powdered milk were distributed among children, sanitary napkins were given to 250 women; 120 new saris and some new t-shirts were also distributed.
What we, the DAYA members saw in our own eyes was really heart wrenching; the magnitude of devastation and the unbearable plight of the people left us all agonized. It is impossible to understand without direct experience how painful it is see one’s own house being blown away in storm or remaining water locked for days. Moreover, at least for the next two years, the land there will remain unsuitable for cultivation of any sort as the land has been inundated in salt water. It is heartbreaking to think of what the livelihood will be like for the people there in next 2 years.
In the second phase of ‘’Punoruddhar 2021’, Durgapur Adda Young Association, in an effort to stand by the victims of Hurricane Yas-affected South Bengal, distributes the life essential goods among 500 flood-affected families in ‘Kachukhali’ of Gosaba Block on June 14, 2021.
After leaving Durgapur on the night of 13th June and reaching Chunakhali in the morning, the goods from the truck were loaded to the boat; travelling 3 hours on boat, crossing many rivers and rivulets, the team reached one of the many ghats of Kachukhali. The goods were then loaded to seven motor van and travelling for about half an hour we reach the western side of Kachukhali. There, livelihood items were distributed among 500 cyclone ‘Yash’ affected families of Kachukhali’s Ramnagar Purba Para, Ramnagar Dakshin Para and Ramnagar Paschim Para.
No, Cyclone Yas did not directly hit the Sundarbans, but the tidal wave caused by the cyclone flooded vast areas of South Bengal, including the Sundarbans. Kachukhali is one of the most notable areas in the Sundarbans where dams were extensively damaged due to tidal surges. We saw that even though the houses did not collapsed in large number, the farmland was submerged in water. The water has receded a lot and will go down further in the normal course of days, but the salt water of the sea has made the soil uncultivable and cultivation will not be possible on this land for at least the next two years. It is an unbearable pain to think about how the people of the area will survive in the future, cultivating the main weapon of their livelihood.
As livelihood goods what DAYA distributed among all the 500 families includes, 3 kg of potato, 1 kg of onion, 500 gm of pulses-chiray-chatu-soybean, 250 gm packet of biscuits, 100 gm packet of turmeric, 200 gm of mustard oil, 200 gm detergent, 1 soap, 100 grams of toothpaste as well as Amul spray for children, sanitary napkins for women. Some new saris for women and new T-shirts for men were distributed.
Here it is important to mentioning two issues:
First of all, though relief materials have reached Kachukhali before us, but that were distributed among people living beside the river, no one has gone inside the island. Moreover, whatever relief materials had came before were distributed among the supporters of the ruling party. But we have distributed the material according to the list made by the people in this remote area.
Second, we have been able to provide so many different types of materials to each family that the affected people of the area are overwhelmed; even in the midst of so much suffering, the smile on their faces was an absolute feeling of joy for all of the DAYA members and it gave us a sense of success.