Kashmir Flood Response

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REBUILDING THE PARADISE A Report on Relief and Rehabiliation in South Kashmir

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Jammu%&%Kashmir%Flood%Response%An initiative for flood releif and rehabilitation in Kashmir undetaken by

Catholic Social Service Society (CSSS) of J&K in association with Caritas India, Delhi

Jammu & Kashmir Flood Response 2014 - 2015

2! Caritas!India!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Catholic!Social!Service!Society!(CSSS)!!!

REBUILDING THE PARADISE Tragedy as it unfolded Torrential downpour in the state from the 1st of September began to wreak havoc as early as the next day as many parts of Jammu region witnessed massive landslides and flash floods. The losses were further escalated on the 6th when water levels in all minor and major rivers in the region breached the danger mark that resulted in the collapse of several bridges and roads besides hundreds of houses across Jammu, Udhampur, Poonch and Rajouri districts. Near Nowshera in Rajouri district about 160 kms northwest of Jammu city a bus carrying more than 70 people mostly marriage party including the bride and the groom was washed away by the raging waters killing almost all the passengers. While Jammu was witnessing what was considered to be the worst in many years another bigger tragedy had already begun to unfold in Kashmir. Kashmir received unprecedented and rains for about 72 hours that threw life out of gear. The initial impacts of rains were felt in the hilly districts of Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora in the north and Anantnag, Kulgam and Shopian in the South on 5th September. This further aggravated on 6th as the floods waters now covered almost all parts of Kashmir particularly Srinagar in central Kashmir. By 7th afternoon large parts of Srinagar city particularly Shivpora, Batwara, Sonawar, Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, Mehjoor Nagar, Rambagh, Indira Nagar, Lal Chowk, Jehangir Chowk etc went under water submerging the entire localities. While some people managed to run to safety others took shelter in the upper floors and attics of their building. By now, the whole of Srinagar had virtually become a large lake thus altering the entire landscape of the city and its surroundings. One of the air force jawans on air rescue mission compared Srinagar to an ocean considering how the flood waters had drowned most parts of the city. What was considered as exceptional and unprecedented was now turning out to be a huge disaster upon Kashmir.

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Need assessment by Caritas India Team The Caritas India, the NGO with broad experience of disaster mamagement and community development was quick to respond to the calamity which the Prime Minister termed as National Disaster. The assessment team from Caritas India in two teams visited Jammu as well as Srinagar on 9th September to take stock of the situation and to gain first hand information on the extent of damage. While the team in Srinagar concentrated on Rajouri and Poonch districts in Jammu region, the team in Kashmir assessed damages in Srinagar, Pulwama, Kulgam and Anantnag districts. All the assessments were coordinated by Catholic Social Service Society (CSSS) of J&K thus ensuring prompt and effective response in relief.

Community Engagement in relief From the start of the intervention it was clear to us that we would focus on relief efforts in districts away from Srinagar and Jammu. A team of local volunteers was also selected and prepared to identify the affected people. The team first visited the district administration for inputs on damages. Selection of villages for relief was finalised based on government data. All the same, the administration had no comprehensive information on damages. Having received the go-ahead from the administration the team would meet the village committees. In the case of Kashmir it is the Masjid/Aquaf committees that provided vital leads on damages and immediate needs. The committees by now had already prepared the list of affected persons which was later verified by our team of volunteers through door-to-door survey and inquiry. The final list of beneficiaries based on physical verification was later presented to the committees for information and joint distribution of relief. The list is later published on prominent places of the community for the information of all. On the day of distribution, based on beneficiary identification cards alreasy distrubted among people, the members of the committee members undertake the task of disbursement while my team facilitates the whole process. By doing this, we are able to encourage participation of the members of the community into relief work among those affected within the village.



PHASE 1

IMMEDIATE RELIEF TO THE FLOOD AFFECTED

Districts Selected Services Offered

Jammu Region Kashmir Region Clean drinking water

Poonch Srinagar Tents

Rajouri Pulwama Sanitation Kits

Kulgam Non-food Items

Medical Assistance

RELEIF IN PULWAMA & KULGAM

Supply of drinking water

One of the first impacts of the floods anf high water levels for several days was the shortage of clean drinking water. Caritas and CSSS addressed this need by emplying water tankers to two villages for 15 days thus ensuring that people of these villages had safe water to drink. Thus on regular basis 30 litres of water was 640 households in Kullulu, Puchal, Kawani and Bandina villages in Pulwama district.

District% Block% Village% Beneficiaries%(families)%

Pulwama% Kakapora! Kullulu!/Puchal! 300!Pulwama% Pulwama! Kawani/Bandina! 340!

TOTAL% 640%

Medical Camps

The response to Kashmir flood and our relief work in South Kashmir was bolstered by the services of volunteers from the Camilus Task Force (CTF) a health services charity based in Hyderabad. The first team comprising of a doctor and several medical students from Gandhi Medical College in Hyderabad reached Srinagar on 2nd October. The team chose Pulwama district in South Kashmir as the focal area of intervention. With the help of local volunteers led by Altaf Hussain the team identified villages that needed immediate medical assistance.

The teams with several teams of volunteers provided medical assistance till 25th October. In the process the team offered medical assistance to 3416 patients spread across 19 villages of Kakapora, Pulwama and Tral blocks of Pulwama district. Camilus team exhibited tremendous resilience and commitment in reaching out to the people in far flung villages of Kashmir and nothing, be it the weather or adverse conditions, could deter their spirit.



District% Block% Village% Beneficiaries%(persons)%

Pulwama% Awantipora! Sail!Chudsoo! 277!Pulwama% Kakapora! Kisrigama! 128!Pulwama% Kakapora! Larve! 39!Pulwama% Kakapora! Qazigund! 149!Pulwama% Kakapora! Gulbugh! 115!Pulwama% Kakapora! Mohanviji! 172!Pulwama% Kakapora! Banderpora! 125!Pulwama% Kakapora! Hanjipora! 58!Pulwama% Kakapora! Puchal!Kallulu! 195!Pulwama% Kakapora! Kharbatpora! 125!Pulwama% Pulwama! Beighpora! 217!Pulwama% Pulwama! Kawini! 235!Pulwama% Pulwama! Bandina! 270!Pulwama% Pulwama! Kulpora! 235!Pulwama% Pulwama! Khandipora! 285!Pulwama% Pulwama! Khellan! 265!Pulwama% Tral! Dangerpora! 81!Pulwama% Tral! Anghanjipora! 235!Pulwama% Tral! Larkipora! 210!

TOTAL% 3416%

Sanitation Kits and Non-food items (NFI)

The severity of the flood was such that people lost much of theor priced possessions. The task was to identify the immediate and urgent needs of the people including men, women and children and help them cope with the tragedy. The Caritas and CSSS worked to provide sanitation and NFI kits to the families. Sanitation/Wish kits were procured keeping in mid the immediate needs of women and children. We ensured that all items were of good quality and met Sphere Standards in disaster response.

NonLfood%Items%(NFI),%Wash%Kits%and%Kitchen%items%Caritas%India%L%CSSS%

District% Block% Village% Beneficiaries%(families)%

Pulwama% Kakapora! Lelhar! 71!Pulwama% Kakapora! Hajibal! 47!Pulwama% Kakapora! Baderpora! 67!Pulwama% Kakapora! Kanilbagh! 47!Pulwama% Kakapora! Reshipora! 50!Pulwama% Kakapora! Wandakpora! 41!Pulwama% Kakapora! Hanjipora! 51!Pulwama% Kakapora! Gulbugh! 117!Pulwama% Kakapora! Mohanviji! 174!Pulwama% Kakapora! Pahoo! 35!



Pulwama% Kakapora! Dougam! 29!Pulwama% Kakapora! Puchal/Kullulu! 100!Pulwama% Kakapora! Ratnipora! 10!Pulwama% Kakapora! Dangerpora! 30!Pulwama% Tral! Goripora! 39!Kulgam% Pahloo! Arnigutoo! 122!Kulgam% Pahloo! Chamgund! 28!

TOTAL% 1058%

Phase%1%Summary%of%Pulwama%and%Kulgam%

Districts% Blocks% Villages% Beneficiaries%

Pulwama% 4! 38! 7254!Kulgam% 1! 2! 150!TOTAL% 5% 40% 7404%

NFI%kits%and%blankets%%Corporate%Disaster%Response%Network%(CDRN)%

District% Block% Village%Beneficiaries%

(families)%Pulwama% Kakapora! Kisrigama! 223!Pulwama% Kakapora! Larve! 162!Pulwama% Kakapora! Qazigund! 158!Pulwama% Kakapora! Sethergund! 151!Pulwama% Kakapora! Gandibagh! 63!Pulwama% Kakapora! Kharbatpora!Ratnipora! 55!Pulwama% Kakapora! Rawatpora!!Ratnipora! 18!Pulwama% Kakapora! Laribal! 164!Pulwama% Kakapora! Kharbatpora! 55!Pulwama% Tral! Beighpora! 310!Pulwama% Tral! LarkiporaVA! 59!Pulwama% Tral! LarkiporaVB! 383!Pulwama% Tral! Padgampora! 269!Pulwama% Tral! Dangerpora! 220!

TOTAL% 2290%



Phase!2!KASHMIR FLOOD RESPONSE – PULWAMA DISTRICT

Based on the sector assessment conducted by the experts of Caritas with the help of local staff after the first phase and with inputs from the district administration, CSSS finalized its 2nd phase of relief work on winter mitigation assistance, ration, feed & bran for livestock and temporary shelters. The NGO lays stress on creating synergy with the district administration and community in the efforts to reach out with relief. Thus the team is constantly in touch with Auquaf committees of the concerned villages to identify and finalize the names of the needy people. After verification by its own team, the list is later shared with the district administration. “CSSS and Caritas have strong sense of community development and they give priority to community participation in all activities. Such measures ensure that the benefits of the relief reach the most deserving person” says Altaf Hussain, the Program Officer of CSSS.

The second phase of relief includes construction of 50 temporary shelters in 6 villages of Pulwama district for those who lost their houses to the floods. Of these 28 are being constructed in Reshipura village, 17 kms from Pulwama. There is ration for 1200 families, so that they can manage the harsh winter without much trouble. CSSS has created a network of retail vendors in Pulwama for the smooth distribution of ration. Another 1200 families get winter mitigation kits that include pheran, Socks, foam and kaangdi among others. Additionally, 500 families are being given feed and bran for livestock. !

DETAILS(OF(ITEMS(S

No. Food Items (1200

Families) Non-Food Items (1200 Families)

Livestock (500 families)

1 Rice 25kg Foam 5/20feet 10mm Feed 25kg 2 Flour 10kg Ferhan Tweed 7mtrs. Bran 17 kg 3 Turmeric 500grms Socks 5 nos. 4 Chilli 500grms Kangdi 3 nos, 5 Salt 1kg 6 Refined dalda Oil 2ltr 7 Salt tea 1kg 8 Rajma Dal 2kg 9 Mong dal 1kg

10 Cholla 1kg 11 Soyabeen 3kg

Shelter

One of the maor components of the 2nd phase is that of transit shelter. Caritas and CSSS, with the help of the district administration of and Auquaf committees in villages have identified needy households and constructed 50 shelters for in 6 villages of Pulwama district. We believe that these shelters will provide much comfort and relief to the affected people to overcome the losses and begin their lives anew.



CONCLUSION Proper and timely distribution of relief materials and services has helped many families in time of crisis. Caritas India was able to reach the remote areas in their interventions by providing basic necessities and support through medical assistance. During the relief, people expressed their gratitude to Caritas India and CSSS as they were the first one to reach their respective villages after 10-12 days of flood. We are grateful to all the volunteers who came forward to support us during releif. The team in Pulwama under the leadership of Mr. Altaf Hussain is the backbone of the program They have been rendering relentless service to this intervention. We are indebted to Jenad Sajad Ahmad Khan, the Duputy Commussioner of Pulwama and Jenab Laiq Parvaiz, Aissistant Deputy Commissioner for all the timely assistance and guidance towards the project. All the village committees have been extremely cooperative and have been very proactive in identifying the deserving households for relief, rehabilitation and support. !

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Prepared by Fr Shaiju Chacko

Program Manager: Caritas India – CSSS J&K Flood Response – Pulwama/Srinagar

Mob: 94191 32344 Email: [email protected]

2nd Phase is currently in progress

Janunary 31, 2015

Ca ri tas Ind i a CBCI Centre 1, Ashoka Place New Delhi 110 001 !

Ca tho l i c So cia l Serv ice Soci ety Sewa Niketan

Kunjwani Bypass Jammu, J&K – 180 010

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Government & Nonprofit

Kashmir Flood Response