CITY STANDS BY THE FLOOD VICTIMS

KANPUR, October 1: People of the city have come out in huge numbers to help the flood victims. The flood victims, who have suffered magnanimous losses due to the fury of the Ganga, have been pleasantly surprised by the love and care showered on them by their fellow city inhabitants. People have come forward and shown the victims that they fully stand by them in their hour of need.

During visits to Ganga Barrage flood relief camp on September 29 and 30, several people were seen working there. They did not belong to any NGO but had come there to do something for the flood victims on their own, something that might help in reducing the plight of the victims. Gaurav Mishra, who owns a petrol pump by the name of Kanpur Carriers at Sachendi, was seen distributing Khichdi to the people with the help of his team. Gaurav was very touched by the plight of the flood victims and said, “Look at these people. They have lost everything. I think we should all do everything possible to help these people.” He told that he had come to the camp a couple of times earlier too with his team. “The Khichdi we are distributing here has been prepared at our home only”, he said.

A team of two middle-aged friends, Alok Gupta and Vikas Verma, was seen distributing biscuit packets to the children. Both of them own wholesale grocery shops in the Nayaganj market and had come there to do something for the children in the camp. Alok Gupta said, “You really do not need to be a member of an NGO if you want to do something good for anybody.” They said that they had come to the camp for the first time but the experience was an eye opening one. Vikas Verma said, “I did not expect to see so many people in this camp and I have never seen such a calamity in our city before.” Both of them said that more people should come forward to help the flood victims. Several other people like Ram Naresh Dubey, Shiv Mohan Singh, Pappu, and Lal Ji Pandey were also seen distributing clothes, biscuits, and fruits to the residents of the camp.

Sector In Charge at Ganga Barrage flood relief camp, Nayab Tehsildar Gulab Chandra , told us that a total of 1035 families were staying at Ganga Barrage flood relief camp itself. The total population of the camp was 4734. He said, “The administration though has made adequate arrangements in the camp for the flood victims but it feels good to see so many people coming forward to help the flood victims.”

Several camp residents were asked about the impact that these efforts had made. Rasiti, an old lady said that she was surprised to see so many people coming to the camp everyday to distribute something or the other. Chhanga said that so much care makes you forget your loss. Ganga Prasad, Indrana, Maiku, Bunty, Bhagwan Din, and Sushma said that they were satisfied with the quality of things that were being distributed by the people and thanked the people for their love and care.