We at Atmashakti Trust have been closely observing the after effects of the natural calamity which has struck the hill state of Uttarakhand. The destruction is massive and has affected the local populace across a vast region. The media has covered just the yatra (pilgrim) route and all help is focused on those areas. Till now the thrust was on evacuation of the pilgrims and now the real rehabilitation work will start. We had started an initial survey of the affected areas in District Pithoragarh and have now identified the high altitude Darma Valley for the long term rehabilitation of some of the villages. We propose to carry out need based work in the affected villages and try to help in bringing them back to normalcy.
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The Rehabilitation Process
One of the most beautiful & picturesque valleys of Uttarakhand, Darma now lies devastated and the villagers have been badly affected. Darma Valley is home to the Rung Tribals (originally Indo-Tibetan traders). The rivers Kali & Dhauli have wreaked havoc in the Dharchula Tehsil. Around 2 dozen lives have been lost and a lot of villagers have lost their cultivable fields, houses & shops, besides all their worldly belongings. Connectivity to these villages is bad as roads, trails & bridges have been washed off. Electricity, telecommunication & water supply besides food & medical supplies, have been badly hit. Some of the worst affected villages are Sela, Urthing, Bongling, Tijam, Khet, Kanchyoti, New Sobla, Gothi, Elagad, etc. And we are just at the start of the monsoon with at least another 2 months of rain.
Looking at all these scenarios we want to help in the long term rehabilitation process of the affected people. To ensure that there is no duplicity and the most needy get help first, we will be working closely with Lok Chetna Manch (Ranikhet) and Rung Kalyan Sansthan based out of Dharchula which is the base camp for approaching the Darma Valley.
Action Plan
- Field Visit & home to home survey for immediate & long term need assessment.
- Interaction with Block & District officials
- Identification of immediate gaps in terms of shelter & basic sanitation
- Meeting of these requirements
- Identification of family wise livelihood restoration
- Phased implementation of the same
Modus operandi
We will be operating from Ranikhet and the effort will be spearheaded by Akshay Shah, Jogendra Bisht & Ms. Anuradha Sharma. In the initial phase we plan to spend up to 15 days in the month to understand and kick start the process. We will appoint field level workers from the local community who will oversee & coordinate daily activities. After the initial phase (3-6 months) we will continue to visit the field area for 12-18 months till we achieve the objective set out in the action plan.
About Us
ATMASHAKTI’s trustees were actively involved in formulating and implementing relief and rehabilitation work in areas affected by the Uttarkashi Earthquake (1991), Odisha Super Cyclone (2000), Tsunami (2004), and most recently Kosi Floods in 2008.
To help the rehabilitation process
We would request all donors to kindly send us a letter / email mentioning the purpose towards which this donation is being made (Donation for extending relief & rehabilitation work in flood hit Uttarakhand ). All donations will be eligible for IT exemption under 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The details are given below.
You can send the donations to us at our address or directly to our account:
Atmashakti Trust,
101-A, Friends Colony (East),
New Delhi – 110065
India.
Cheque to be made in the name of ‘ATMASHAKTI‘
Atmashakti
Bank A/C No: 00891450000302
IFSC: HDFC0000089
Address: D-965 New Friends Colony
New Delhi 110065
Email: atmashaktitrust@gmail.com
