Volunteers Join Hands with GHMC to Help Flood Victims

September 24, 2016 13:25
Volunteers Join Hands with GHMC to Help Flood Victims

Amid tales of misery and loss, the heavy downpour lashing Hyderabad of late also brought to the fore heartening stories of generosity and goodwill. On Friday, hundreds of good volunteers came forward to offer help to those affected by incessant rains.

From food and shelter to mobile recharge and medical facilities, people did all they could to assist these ‘victims’. It was the reach of social media that made the change on ground as people from various parts of the city joined hands to help those marooned in their apartments.

Several organisations worked round the clock to gather supplies, organise trucks and load them. Volunteers waded through knee-deep water to reach those in need of immediate attention.

"We distributed over 500 food packets to various areas like the slums in Mayuri Marg, Ambedkar Nagar Colony and Begumpet where nala water entered their houses, making it extremely unhygienic for them to live or cook there," said Ashish Jain, member of Jain Yuva Sangathan, who later also distributed food packets to patients at Niloufer Hospital.

Even the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation in association with Hare Krishna Foundation distributed 10,000 food packets to the needy. The Hyderabad traffic police too joined in with biryani packets.

Several NGOs in the city mobilised their network of volunteers to lend a helping hand. "Initially we sent a group of volunteers to gauge the requirement of those stranded. After that we began sending out relief material such as blankets, food packets, drinking water, medical aid etc. in areas such as Uppuguda, Sadat Nagar, Peerzadiguda and Alwal," Sabah Quadri, coordinator of Help Hyderabad told TOI. During their survey, the NGO identified 22 houses in Peerzadiguda and over 500 houses in Sadat Nagar and Uppuguda as critically affected.

There were several other NGOs and social organisations that distributed food packets and medical aid in the low-lying areas of Balanagar, Sanath Nagar assembly, parts of Old City, Allwyn Colony, Nizampet among others.

"I received several messages from people who told me that since their area is inundated, they cannot move out of their house to recharge. Many were unable to seek help as they had no balance on their phone," said Ammar Kanchwala, a digital marketing professional, who took to Twitter to offer such 'recharge' services.

Even cab aggregators like Uber and Ola, for a change, slashed their prices to make commuting easy for Hyderabadis. While Ola disabled peak pricing in the city, Uber slashed prices by 50% on a coupon code for the weekend.

Also Read: Met Department Prediction goes Wrong Again

BY M. DIVYA SRI

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Hyderabad  flood  volunteers  GHMC  rain  water logging