Chennai Relief updates

Manavata has initiated flood relief activities in chennai and has been working on immediate relief activities like arraning fresh food for impacted areas. So far emergency relief has reached to 5000 people with food, clothes, blankets, mosquto coils, candles etc to several families who are stuck in water. To organize food and other distributioni we have setup a base camp in Rayapuram and made things so far successful. around 60 volunteers have involved as part of this program. volunters from Hyderabad, Bangalore and Tirupathi also came here generously to help in these events. Number of local volunteers done a great work during distribution to right needy people.As there are 150+ villages suffering from continous rains in past one month Bhuvanagiri (near Chidambaram) area, we have sent some material there. next phase of operations are also getting planned in that location.

If you would like to volunteer you can join the team so that we can scale up distribution to many more people who are in need in different places.

10th Dec:

Our experiences so far and real ground level scenario:

• People faced lot of troubles to go out of homes, living relief camps or in water filled houses / water stacked roads in first 1 week. Now most of the stuff is cleared and people are settled back and life in chennai becoming normal.
• Water and power are available in most of the areas. Food is supplied by Govt, NGOs and many other service minded people in all over chennai with overwhelming responses.
• Now cooked food is not required to be supplied
• Don’t panic with Media news.
• There are many old news and roomers going around in social media also.. So unless you see real situation at ground level, do not dump any material.
• Do not send any clothes except blankets, people are not using any clothes distributed, all of them becoming waste and value less.
• It is a man-made disaster, many places water stacked because of drainage blockages, plastics etc. So on the name of relief do not dump any material as there is not much physical loss in this disaster. Overwhelming response making situation worse with lot of unnecessary material dump. Many people just sent their old clothes, but those are not really useful for the poor as sizes are too big for them. so that can’t  use it.. so please do not buy clothes irresponsible, try to reuse your clothes. (per person max 1 or 2 pairs a year).9th Dec: Jayanthi, Prabhu and other volunteers are talking to local volunteers in Melakuppam, Ameri, Thoppidikumppam villages near Cudalore as they need some immediate food support. today some volunteers might visit this place to see real scenario before dumping any material.8th Dec: Next steps:

Today Khalai has visited an orphanage in Ramapuram near KK nagar, where 18 children seems to be starving. he found actual need and next arrangements will be done soon. team also working on arranging medical camps in some of the areas where lot of contamination happed due to floods. Trying to sort out doctors and other arrangements soon.

7th Dec:

Cooked food served only 300 people in most needy area. Rest groceries, blankets, cloths, mats, mosquito mats, candles etc.. based on need.

Most of the distribution is now completed here. Still all 3 Teams are working now in 3 areas 1. Rajaji nagar, Kargil nagar, 2. City Slum, 3. Athipet and Manali.

Rest of banglore material is going to bhuvanagiry. Emergancy services in chennai now closed as everything comming back to normal and rest is taken care locallly.

​6th Dec:

Prepared lemon rice and packed. Distributed as breakfast in the rain at 9AM near Vyasampur around 250 packets. Prepared sambar rice for 500 packets and distributed in the afternoon session.

We just finished food, candles and other assentials to house to house, where there is no power from one week. Walking in drinage mixed dirty water in dark.

People are so happy. They are so responsible, if they dont need, they dont take. They took whatever they need. Volunteers worked extreamly hard to reach here.

5th Dec:

6pm: Team is preparing food now.. Khalai is trying get do a quick round of verification of distribution site before taking food. around 20 volunteers now at ground for distribution.. Leena and Guru also linked up some more volunteers now..

Manavata Base camp site address is:
VGP Kalyana mantapam, Rayapuram High road(Opp. to High dream theatre). Chennai

3pm: Good news is material was recovered and delivered at Rayapuram base camp. Jayanthi managed to arrange cooks with the help of her uncle along with some volunteers. Khalai and Suba co-ordinating cooking at venue. now volunteers can reach there and actively participate in distribution program.

1pm: Now Khalai and team is working to get base camp arrangements back in Rayapuram where he could manage to book kalyana madapam.. it allows us to put some emergency relief camp, we can worst effected people to the venue to provide food and shelter there. even some emergency care for children and old also can be organized here.
Srini, Prakash, Aravind and other volunteers also on the way to Chennai to volunteer at ground level. Raghu and Chandra reached to Chennai with truck from Bangalore and now they are in Lloyla collage rehebilitaion centre.

Key Contacts:

Srini: 9704569932 (main co-ordination)

Khalai: 9940144985 (food preparation base camp contact)

Prakash: 9849057179 / Naresh: 8142132913 (Co-ordination)
Helpline: 9966673111

3rd Dec:

To organize food for 2000 people who stuck in the water, team has made ncessary base camp arrangemnts in with necessary fresh food arrangements.

If you would like to volunteer you can join the team so that we can scale up distribution to many more people who are in need in different places.

Volunteer:  As this is all voluntary work, we greatly appreciate your support. You may want to join the team at ground level or volunteer your time for co-ordination, pls contact on above contact numbers.

4th Dec:

Greatly appreciate all your rapid action and efforts to make base camp arrangements.

Khalai has made arrangements for kitchen (with all required facilities) in Rayapuram which is fine area now. Khalai said, he can take care of food preparation side..

Shifted to KK Nagar, near Koyambedu: To make it more convenient Ramesh has organized kitchen at KK Nagar. and now cooking has been started.

Manoj and Guru started from Naidupet as they procured necessary material including vegetables and grocery for food preparation.Material is delivered in KK nagar where food distribution is happening.. police and government departments are mis guiding volunteers.. we should be very careful. due to turbulances every has to go out of that place and our base camp setup activity was distrubed due to improper communication from Ramesh and team.

Prakash and Naresh helping coordination and communication.. wonderfully organized and connected right people.  Manavata UK team also quickly acted and helped in the progress.

Bangalore volunteers did some background work to collect some items like clothes etc and they are starting with a truck to visit impacted areas like Chennai and costal areas. (appreciate Srikanth, Prasad, Hari and other volunteers).

Donate: It is about just money, give heart to those victims in need.. you may contribute in different ways voluntaring or donating money: we appreaciate any your timely help: http://manavata.org/donations/create