Citizens gear up to help Fani victims tide over

BENGALURU: As Odisha is putting in all efforts to restore 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas destroyed by cyclone Fani, groups in Bengaluru and Kerala are also coming together to send relief material to the state. These groups, which have earlier worked to provide aid during the Kerala and Kodagu floods last year, have set up seven drop-off points in Bengaluru, where people can donate their contributions.

“We are accepting tarpaulin, packaged food items such as biscuits and noodles, water bottles, bed sheets and blankets, medicines such as paracetamol, disinfectants, toiletries, sanitary pads, diapers, insect repellents, candles, torches with batteries, and new clothes for people of all ages, until May 15,” said Vikas
Agarwal, a member of Robin Hood Army.

Volunteers in the city have offered their homes, offices and hotel spaces to serve as collection points. For instance, Exotel, a startup, has allowed the use of its office for the purpose. “We are also in talks with other offices,” said Melvin Stephen, another member of the organisation. “We worked with Kerala-based groups such as Ebenezer Community Development Mission (ECDM) during the floods last year. Some of their members, including a few from Bengaluru, will travel by train to Puri and Bhubaneswar with the relief material. We have contacted local volunteers in Odisha who are aware of where and how the material needs to be distributed, and they will receive it at the railway station,” Stephen added.

The other groups from Kerala that are a part of this exercise are Flood Volunteers Family, Rise Up, Kottayam Koode, and NSS Kochi.Hannah Elsa, a Bengalurean who is a member of ECDM, said, “We will be leaving for Odisha on May 18. People in the cyclone-hit areas have updated us about the condition and what their needs are. They are suffering with no electricity, drinking water, functional ATMs, and shops to buy food, based on which we have drawn up a list of items people can donate. We are also looking for portable battery packs due to lack of electricity.”

All the material collected in the city will be stored at the base in Madiwala, where Savoury Seashell Hotel has lent a room for storage.