Eight members team of Mukti IIT Kharagpur chapter visited one of the most affected regions of Patharpratima Block of Sunderban. Three students of IIT Khararpur started at 6:00 am on Saturday (June 6th, 2009) and other 5 volunteers joined them from Kolkata. The team reached at K-Plot Island in evening of the same day.
Next day morning they went out to survey two of the villages in K-Plot, namely Purba-Shripatinagar and Parchim-Shripatinagar. They found most of the mud houses of these two villages are completely damaged and the ponds of these areas are filled with saline water.
People of two villages are dependent on only one tube-well, which is running day and night. Local villagers informed that they have made a routine for usage of tube-well, which is the only source of drinking water of these two villages. The rule is something like that everyone will not get water for bath on every day. Child and women will be getting privilege during day time and men will get water during evening. Unfortunately, one man informed the volunteers that men are getting water for their bath during evening only and that may be after 8:00 PM or 9:00 PM and that too after few days when his turn will come.
Volunteers also observed that other animals like cattle and birds are also surrounding that tube-well for drinking water and waiting there when men will provide a pot of water to them. The real situation can not be described in word.
Mukti team realized that getting enough fresh water is a real challenge for villagers and planned for a solution. They started sharing their plan among villagers with the help of local school head teacher Mr. Ram Prasad .The team selected 10 big and medium size community ponds and decided to pump out all saline water out of it so that it can be ready for sweet water.
They talked to villagers who has water-pump sets and managed to get 30 pump sets for this mission. Villages also agreed to take lesser price of Rs. 35 instead of Rs. 40 in normal rate. Villages are delighted with IITien’s thoughts and works. They supported the whole team in whatever the way they can.
After continuing for 2 days when the team left villages they were finished with their mission for 8 ponds and the work for another two big ponds were still going and later completed by local Mukti volunteers.
The Observations:
1. Mazidpara in Purba-Sripatinagar is completely damaged.
2. Villages are asking for educational help for affected and non affected poor students.
3. Each pond is costing 2 to 4 thousands Rupees to clean and using bleaching and lime to purify the water.
4. Affected students are asking for school uniform along with their school books & bags, as they lost educational materials during Aila and could not take them out when they left house on that day of Cyclone.
5. Mosquito is one of the major problems in these area and need to do something to help these people.
Volunteers visited : Ubhasis Saradar, Sourav Bera,Tarun Bera,Subrata Jana,Subhas Sasmal,Soumydip, Surajit Maity and Nayan Maity.