Media and Disasters - Cyclone Aila and the Uttarakhand Floods

The Cyclone Aila hit West Bengal and Bangladesh on May 25 and 26^th, 2009, impacting the lives and livelihoods of nearly 6.8 million people in West Bengal alone.  According to the Government records, the disaster hit 28,349 villages of 206 blocks in 18 districts West Bengal killing 193 persons and leaving nearly half a million people homeless. 911,000 houses were partly or fully damaged,   2262 kilometers of roads and over 900 kilometers of river embankments so vital for preservation of ecological sensitive areas of Sunderban were washed away by  the cyclone, salinating the farmlands and inundating the villages. The estimated damage was pegged at US $ 300 million. This warranted a massive relief operation with cost estimation to the tune of Rs. 647 crores (6.47 billion). With additional support from the Union Government, the total volume spent by the government by way of relief, rehabilitation and recovery including embankment repairing would be another 5,000 crore (50 billion) rupees, besides about 50 crores spent by NGOs in relief activities. But, one big grudge was repeated in all inter-agency meetings and even in government meetings: the media did not give due attention to what had happened in West Bengal. There was very little coverage in the English news channels, and very little in the national dailies printed in other states.

In comparison to this, the damage in the state of Uttarakhand in June 2013 is much smaller in terms of territory, in terms of damage to houses, and damage to infrastructure, although more people have died there due to the unpreparedness of the community and a huge traveling population who were visiting the state. But what we see is a huge outcry in the media - both electronic and printed, each one trying to beat the other in reporting about the damage. Why is this difference in attitude of the media. Let's analyze.

Visuals Matter: In the case of cyclone Aila, we do not have cyclone tracking maniacs in the country to shoot visuals and sell it to TV companies. And once the embankments broke, it was so sudden that there was no one to take photos and videos except after the relief camps were set as everything else was under water. But in the case of Uttarakhand, the waters came like a dam-burst and hit with vengeance on anything on the way, and the buildings were collapsing while the media men and people could stand at safer distances and take visuals of it. (Picture courtesy: The Hindu)

Geographical Proximity to Capital: Uttarakhand is hardly a distance from the capital New Delhi. And there was heavy rains at the same time in Delhi, leaving several parts of it inundated, including the Delhi airport. And the fear of a flood in river Yamuna was agog. And the media men and women can fly in an out within an hour. Whereas, in the case of West Bengal, the distance did matter. Besides, there was no fear of any other part of the country under threat. After all, the cyclone is "gone", then why bother about what is gone? After all, it is not cost effective to do live coverage sitting in Delhi about a flood in the Sunderbans. There are more serious matters than that.

Impact Population: In the case of cyclone Aila, the worst affected were the people in the Sunderbans, although millions of others were also affected. But, the point is, the people of Sunderbans are all people who were residents of the area, poor and vulnerable, and had fought through several disasters throughout life. But the population in Uttarakhand is of different nature. Indeed, Uttarakhand is having such flash floods only of late. Secondly, although it is a small state, lot of rich people from other states visit it for going to various Hindu pilgrimage centers. So, you have people from Delhi, Gujarat, Bengal, Maharashtra and several other states are found to have been "impacted" due to the disaster there. There are Agarwals, Chatterjees, Mishras and several other such higher caste people stranded or affected by the floods there. But in the case of Sunderbans, it is all simple agricultural farmers and fisherman. Why bother about those who cannot make much noise!

Improved Technology: With better cellular connectivity, mobile applications, possibility of video uploading, interactive applications, and the huge impact of Google and Android in Indian market which were either not there or were not so prevalent four years ago, have played also a major part in highlighting the Uttarakhand disaster. So, when 18 districts were affected with huge damage to infrastructure and houses in West Bengal, there was hardly any demand for declaring it a "National Calamity" except for some feeble voices coming from the state itself. But, there is a huge demand for declaring the Uttarakhand flood as a national calamity, for it has affected people of several races, castes and states, although in actual number, it may not be as high as the cyclone Aila.

End of a Saga

The Polio Emergency Response started in April 2011 by Core Group in West Bengal will come to an end on 5 May 2013. Dr. Roma Solomon the Director of Core Group Polio Project (CGPP), Mr. Jitendra Awale, Deputy Director of CGPP, Ms. Rina Dey, expert in Behavior Change Communication for CGPP, and Mr. Manojkumar, Data Management Officer of CGPP also are in Kolkata for a valedictory session. The session was organized at Hotel Indismart in Salt Lake with several dignitaries from Unicef, WHO, ADRA India and the partner organizations.

It is both time to thank one another and to appreciate the role of everyone. So, on 26 April, the team traveled to areas supported by Seva Kendra and Women’s Interlink Foundation, the two partners of CGPP where they met the community mobilizers and supervisors and interacted with them, appreciated them and thanked them for their wonderful task in bringing down resistance in most areas to zero levels and in some very hardcore areas under acceptable limits.

On 27^th and 28^th they spent the whole day at Bolpur, relaxing in our company, enjoying the warmth and love that we had to share with one another. On 29^th April, the valedictory session brought to fore the times and hardships the staff went through, the challenges in team building and the role each one played in strengthening emergency response. I had joined this team in April 2011 just for a period of 4 months. But then, the team in Delhi was so friendly and supportive, the task was challenging as the entire team of coordinators, supervisors and mobilizers were new to such response program, and it involved me to set up systems and procedures for networking, linkage with government, Unicef, WHO, Rotary, and managing the balance of relationship between partners. I enjoyed it….cherished it, and love it, as I became part of the CGPP family. CGPP too recognized me for the extra gifts I had by way of analytically looking at issues, programming and communication skills, besides the little knowledge on using technology for program management and monitoring.

Thank you friends for the wonderful support and love! Adieu everyone in the Polio Emergency Respones program. See you again!

Cheaters!

The State of West Bengal is under siege! It is under the siege of political leaders who have worked in tandem with non-banking financial entities (known in local parlance as “Chit Fund”) who have siphoned of billions of rupees, most of which was life’s entire savings of poorer families. Some Members of Parliament, ministers and political leaders have been accused of having benefited from their acquaintance with what the Saradha Agency that is in news of late. Every political party is crying foul of the other of having benefited from the group, as the group was dragged into media, real estate, tourism and you name it. After at least three deaths and suicides have been reported due to this micro-finance scam that is haunting the state and after thousands of agents and journalists have lost their job, the governments are trying to wash their hands off. Finally, action was forced upon, and some of the Directors have been detained, including the CEO. The Chief Minister has proposed that cigarettes will be made costlier by 10% more by way of special tax, and 1.5 billion rupees will be recovered through that to pay the small investors and some medium investors. The government plans to put in 3.5 billion to add to it. The large investors and the high medium may not be that lucky as the 5 billion proposed money will not be enough to pay all. At a press conference the Chief Minister asked people to “smoke more so that the money can be recovered fast”, so that the poor can be paid their capital back. Good intention wrought with ill impacts? Many doctors have questioned the reasoning as to what about the health impact of increased smoking.

The government, including the Chief Minister, at the state seems to have some good intentions to put things in order. The main culprits have been arrested, and she has promised more action, even if the other culprits come from her own party. It is also important that the investigation is done in a non-partisan manner, and all those who cheated the poor are brought to book soon. Or else, the party that came to power on pro-poor issues may end up paying the price. 

Early Alert System : Restarted

The SMS Based Early Alerts has been restarted. The system was conditioned in the last year due to severe regulations from TRAI, over 60% of people's phones attached to DND and several people in the community we serve changing their phones. Now, we have worked out an automated system, but it will work only on a fresh one time request from those who wish to receive it. We shall continue to work further to improve our services to you.

People living in India may register by sending an SMS with the text ALERT INDIA from your phone to 09434753999. On receiving the message a confirmation message will be sent to the sender's phone within 30 seconds.

Mangrove Forest Planning

On the request of a noted non-profit organization, CKS has planned to take up mapping of prospective areas where mangrove can be planted in the most vulnerable blocks of Sunderbans. As a prelude to this,  a model map has been created for one panchayat- Satjelia island in Gosaba block of South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, India. We have identified 109 plots accumulating to about 123 acres of land.

Interested NGOS and INGOs may contact CKS for support in this regards and for similar area based planning. For viewing we have placed only the plot identification number without mentioning the area of each plot separately as the data will have to go through the final verification process from our field team.

Training the NDRF

On 3 March National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)' second Battalion organized a workshop for about 225 soldiers who are usually involved in Disaster Response in the country, and at times, if need arises internationally. The program was inaugurated by Director General of NDRF Mr. P.M. Nair. Mrs. Kavita Singh, a professor from the National University of Juridical Sciences spoke on the legal framework for protection of women and she exhorted the soldiers to be sensitive towards the rights of women. A drama group from the city through various interactive activities focused on team effort and motivation. I had the privilege of interacting with the soldiers on Gender Needs in Emergencies - with focus on Evacuation, Search & Rescue and Camp Management. Since NDRF is involved in those activities in emergencies, the brief presentation, two short videos, couple of case stories and the discussion points were highly appreciated and found to be useful. 

Since this was my first external major program after the accident on 5 Feb, I was delighted that I could manage the session better than I thought I might end up with, as the training was in Hindi. Ms. Megan and Ms. Kaytlyn, two students from Seattle University also joined the program as observers. We thank the Commandant of the 2nd Battalion Mr. Sukhdev Raj and the Deputy Commandant Mr. Mukesh Verma for organizing such wonderful program for the whole day for the soldiers who can make a difference between life and death in times of disasters. 

Days of Healing

On 4 Feb I was again in Kolkata for training of the Project Coordinators and Block Supervisors of the polio eradication program. On 5th Feb evening, once the training was over, I left for Bolpur via Bardhamman. At Bardhamman station, while waiting for the local train to arrive as I was scheduled to leave at 8.10 pm, at about 7.50 pm, a train carrying coal was to cross through the same platform. The train came in with a loud thud and lot of fire above one of the containers as it was brushing against the overhead electric cables. People started running for cover as the fire and the blasts were growing big. While a few of us were trying to shout to the driver about the danger, he was still pulling the train on to the platform. Soon, everyone had to run for shelter, as we jumped on to the empty tracks to rush towards an empty platform far off. At that time someone unintentionally pushed me from behind and I fell on the tracks! As I got up immediately I saw that I was bleeding profusely from my head with more scratches on my left knee and pain in my right palm. Few fellow passengers gathered and asked me to go for first aid at the train station itself. They said that I have a very "dangerous" cut, which I was not able to see anyway. All that I know was that my hand kerchief is already soaked in blood, and now I was trying to  cover with my shawl, but it was still bleeding heavily and the shawl was of little help.

I walked out of the station, knowing that it may not be safe for me to be in the station with lot of unknown people and severe head injury. So, I took a rickshaw, went to Asansol Burdwan Seva Kendra (ABSK), an NGO run by the diocese of Asansol, which is situated about 5 minutes ride from the station. The Director of the institution, Fr. Dolphy is a friend of mine. Soon I was taken care of and by 8.45 I was in the operation theater of a nursing home, and was given 14 stitches (3 on the nose, 2 above the right eye and nine on the forehead). I rested that night in ABSK and returned to Bolpur on 6th morning. I must thank Fr. Dolphy and few of his staff who took care of me at the crucial hours, Shubhra for being the gem as I recovered over the days with swollen eyes and severe pain and for all the love she gave, and whole lot of friends and family members who visited me, called me to check on my health, prayed for me and for being a wonderful support. Eleven days have rolled by. I am just getting fit and fine. Hope to begin to be more and more functional in the coming days. Thank you friends!

Rush to Delhi and Kolkata

On 1 Feb, Tuesday, I left by the morning, 7.00 Indigo flight to Delhi on an invitation by CORE Group to visit ZMQ technologies in Gurgaon, Delhi. The flight could not land in Delhi for over 1.10 minutes, and so, instead of landing at 9.10, landed at 10.20, 20 minutes later than the scheduled time of the meeting, and reached the venue at 11.00. We were air borne as we kept rounding the Delhi sky for the entire period. What a colossal waste of gas / petrol although these planes and airports are enabled with CAT-III facilities! Since ZMQ and CORE Group team were waiting for me, the delayed the meeting to 10.45, and so, I did not miss much, and was able to catch up quickly with a brief given to me in couple of minutes. The day's discussions were about the new software that CORE Group is planning with technical support from ZMQ. The software will help community volunteers to update, retrieve and use data relating to every family / child in their areas so that immunization and health of the children in the families can be increased. My night return flight of Air India AI-021 scheduled to leave Delhi at 8.15 pm, left at 11.15 and I landed at 1.20 am. By the time I went to bed it was 3.30 am. (Missed meeting any of my friends in Delhi!)

The next day, 2 Feb 2013, I went to participate in the South East Asian conference on Public Health, held at Science City, Kolkata. The program was very interesting as lot of people from several parts of the country and few other countries were participating in the program. I also met a lot of doctors, engineers, students and teachers from various walks of life, interested in public health. The program went off smoothly. Of course, from CORE Group we had put up a stall in the venue which was frequented by hundreds of people throughout the day.

Support in North Dinajpur

With the financial support of UNICEF, the North Dinajpur District Department of Health and Family Welfare has taken up a community mobilization program for increasing booth coverage for polio programs in six panchayats of Goalpukur I Block of North Dinajpur district. Center for Knowledge and Skills (CKS) is supporting the program with human resource and technical support. On behalf of CKS, Dr. Prabir Chatterjee is leading the team, with Mr. Lukman of CKS assisting him and six other persons have been engaged in the program so that the program is implemented properly. The program involves one week of active involvement of (a) health personnel in ensuring that the vaccine delivery is done properly and on time; (b) schools and children are mobilized to bring in other children to the  polio booth on Sunday 20, Jan 2013; (c) Awareness is created in community through children's rallies, influencer meetings, involvement of local government officials and elected representatives; (d) Churches and mosques in the area announce about the polio program and ask people to take the children for vaccination to the booth, and not wait for vaccinators to visit their homes; (e) increase visibility of the program through increased announcements through loudspeakers etc. We are happy to share couple of photos from the school rallies organized in two panchayats.

The Arrival Terminal

Megan at breakfast table

Kaytlyn having breakfast

Xenia enjoying breakfast

On 6 Jan, Ms. Xenia, a friend whom I had met in September 2007 over a flight from Frankfurt to Dubai, and then later on got connected through Facebook. She is now a business woman and has come to India and wants to explore few other countries so that she can have more taste of the Asian continent. Megan and Kaytlyn are from Seattle University. They would be staying with me for ten weeks. One of them want to know more about disaster management plans and wants to help in improving upon one of the plans. The other wants to help in providing some ideas for rural economy as she spends the day analyzing more options for rural products in the global market. Interesting concepts ! Welcome ladies.....

By the way, Megan's luggage was lost by Singapore Airlines, and it was delayed by 24 hours, and she got it nearly after 48 hours. She was given 2500 rupees by the airlines in damages and the train fare for going again  to airport to collect the baggage.