Losses in floods push many into depression

Bhubaneswar: The devastating floods not only damaged the house of Surya Narayan Sahoo in Balasore, but also ruined his paddy and other crops, pushing him into depression.
The disaster has not left Sahoo alone in stress, but also taken a heavy toll on the mental health of thousands of other flood-ravaged men in different districts. Loss of livelihood, damage to houses and swathes of agricultural lands and standing crops and difficulties to repay the loans have triggered depression among the affected people, mostly farmers.
“I have been spending sleepless nights in the cyclone shelter for the last two days. My house has been submerged in the floodwaters and crops have been damaged. I had taken a Rs 70,000 loan for agriculture purposes. Now I am at a loss how to repay it. I am in extreme stress,” said Sahoo of Baliapal area, one of the worst affected areas by floods in Balasore district.
Santosh Mohanty, who owns a grocery store in Bhograi area, is tense as goods worth over Rs 3 lakh have either been washed away or damaged in the floods. Mohanty, who ekes out his living from the grocery shop, had bought different materials just a fortnight ago.
“I had shifted some of the goods to our home. But the floodwaters gushed into our village and houses. The goods were completely damaged in the floodwaters,” Mohanty said.
The floods have also left many children traumatized. Seeing their villages, houses, schools, books and playgrounds under water, they (children) have lost their smiles. “We will set up child care and counselling centres in the flood-affected areas. They need counselling through entertainment modes to recover from the trauma,” said Sujata Mishra, a child rights campaigner.