Kerala Disaster - A humble effort by 40 families & friends in Chandigarh

Traditional Kuttanad fishing method - casting the net! Yes it is  ONAM today - a sublime Onam wishes to readers! Kuttanad, also known as the rice bowl of Kerala, is a badly floodhit space in the backwaters of Kerala and this is the place where I have my family home too. Floods indeed are not at all new to Kuttanad, which is 2.2 meters below sea level and that is exactly why it is called the backwaters. Kuttanad has to bear the discharge from rivers like Pampa, Achankovil, Manimala, Meenachil and Muvattupuzha before they end up in the sea through a man-made bund and a spillway. But this monsoon, the heavy rains in the northern/eastern part of the state and increased flow in the rivers and to top it all, the poor discharge through the two regulators, Thaneermukkam bund and Thottappally spillway has resulted in the floodwater staying in the region, longer. Internal sources inform that there was a non clearance of the sand at the mouth of the spillway pending a dispute regardin...

100% literacy attained by the state could be ascribed to the social inclusiveness that prevails in the society in general, in the state of Kerala. I do have faint memories of the feudal system prevailing in Kerala, in my childhood, which today is almost non existent. This has resulted in social inclusiveness today existing in the state and was very evidently visible, be it the anonymous fishermen folks and the off-duty civil servants, not to forget the unknown individuals who so selflessly contributed their 'bit' in the rescue operations when many of the the political class 'retreated'! The society now needs to revitalize themselves to face the aftermath of this major catastrophe. When will we learn to hear to the noises that predicts such calamities like the 'ignored' Gadgil report? When will the motive of development, laced with greed give way to a thought process which can be good for all? When will we stop the brazen abuse of nature, which is a major reas...

Every effort to bring about a change in the lives of people hit by disaster is a brave one. Limited resources does not mean we do not take a step in this direction. Every penny of help extended to the disaster hit goes a long way in comforting the affected! It is with the 'support' (and conviction) of the above thoughts that we, a small group of the Saint Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church Youth League {SMOSHYL} initiated the fund raising from friends and well wishers. It indeed is a small but very important step for us and we are convinced to take it to the needy and the suffering in the state of Kerala, with the moral and financial support from one and all. As is evident, the state is surely being helped enormously by the Central Government as well as the various State Governments in the Indian Republic, both in cash and kind but despite that there are many in the interiors of the state who are not able to avail the benefits of these largesse. It is this section of the s...