“My house is gone... It’s no more...”, “I don’t know where my cattle is... Rather if it’s dead or alive...” this was a very common phrase I heard when we had reached a government school which was a relief camp for the people who were affected in the floods which recently took place in some parts of Guntur District (Andhra Pradesh, India). I was in Guntur to visit the flood affected area. (Hereon it will be called FAA).
We were in a team of 4 ,Avinash, Sheel,Parag and myself. We left Bangalore on 9th October to a city called Guntur. After travelling for almost 650kms and 12hrs we reached the city called Guntur. We had already made a contact person in Guntur who was going to accompany us as well as guide us in that locale. We were directed to an Institute kind of a place where our stay was organized for next 2 days. The institute name was BIRD (Bosco Integral Rural Development). We got freshened up and soon Mr. Bala Kumar; our contact person in Guntur, arrived at the place where we had been put up. After the self introduction session, we immediately started heading towards the flood affected areas and the relief camps. Toyota Qualis was arranged for us to roam around the places. En route we had brunch where we met Mr. Jagdish who joined us.
We got the news that the relief camp was soon going to be bunged as most of the villagers were going back to their native places. So we thought of having a look at the relief camp first. We reached a small village and then entered a government school. This school was a relief camp for the FAA people. There was a big line of men and women, quarrels going around everywhere, policemen trying to sort them, some government officials trying to regulate the process.
After a few minutes I comprehended what this havoc was all about. All the FAA people were getting food grains (rice) to take it to their home. This rice was being supplied by the government as a help for those who were affected. “My house is gone... It’s no more...”, “I don’t know where my cattle is... Rather if it’s dead or alive...” was quite a common thing to whomsoever I tried to talk. We were lucky to have Mr. Bala Kumar as he was a local person and well conversed with English and Telugu. Thus language was never a barrier for those 2 days. Around 2000 people were staying in a small school where they were provided with lunch, every day. They were also provided with clean drinking water pouches and biscuits. We clicked a few pictures of the provisions made in the relief camp and then we moved onwards to the actual affected area. We were watching all the flood affected farms, live, and till date had seen them only in the newspapers.
While listening to the stories about the floods from the local people accompanying us, our vehicle suddenly stopped and then we realized that there was a low lying area ahead and water was flowing over the road. It was a distance of 100 meters approximately to cross, but the water was quite high and we had to take a boat to cross this area. On the other side of the road an auto rickshaw tempo was waiting for us to take us to the villages. The first village we halted was Panchalanka. The scene was catastrophic as most of the houses were in water and mud slurry. The whole area was water logged. People were walking in the mud, in the garbage and whatever was there on the ground. The houses had buckled and people were trying to clear their spaces. We met few villagers and asked about the problems they were facing. It was really bad to know that their cattle were flown away with the flood water. A very few of them were lucky to have their cattle safe and sound. We then travelled to another place called Kullur. We were welcomed by applause. I still wonder what they were thinking about us! I guess they were thinking about us as entertainers, four crazy looking boys in shorts and cameras. A relief camp was setup in the village school and was still very much needed as half of the village was in water. The flood water was still flowing through the village. I feared to step into the water for a second, but then built the courage to get into it. I was having a look at a house and then the toilet grasped my attention. The water was gushing out from the toilet as the soak pit under the toilet had got filled with flood water.
We observed few damaged houses and spoke with the house owners. They had accepted the circumstances without any scowl on their face. They took us inside their houses. The beds were hanging to the ceiling, just to avoid them from getting wet. At the other sight, a shack made from dry tody leaves had collapsed. The lady owner was smiling cheerfully and was ready to show what all had got trapped inside her house. We came back to the place where our tempo was parked. A small shop in the village refreshed us from the scorching sun by providing us cold drinks. We started to our way back by taking a ring route. Our Qualis was waiting on the other side. All had stunned after witnessing the devastating scenes. Mean while we had a late lunch in Tenali town. We asked Mr. Kumar if it was possible to visit some nearby village and have a dialogue with the villagers about sanitation. He immediately called a contact person and arranged for a meeting in a village. These people were from Self Help Groups (SHG). They spoke very freely about their concerns of sanitation and toilets. They had no other option than open defecation that too at a minimum distance of 1km from their house. They had separate areas for men and women. They had no solution for it. All this was adding to my experience and was not a bookish knowledge. It was late, we took their leave and went back to the city where we were put up. At the end of a hectic day, we wanted rest, after taking a wash!
Day 2
The day started with heavy breakfast at a roadside eatery. We met Mr. Bala Kumar in his office for a small meeting about the potential of development in the villages. A Qualis was arranged again for visiting villages nearby, but this time it was non-flood affected areas. We had a visit to village Lam, a hilly and rocky area.
This village was surely a big potential for EcoSan toilets according to my readings and knowledge. An interesting case in this village was about a handicapped girl, who had no other option than to walk about 1km as all the villagers do, for the big job. Most of the houses in this village had a small bathroom in the kitchen garden, but the water coming out from the bathroom was allowed to run in the open areas in the village. We visited one more village called Tillur. This village looked a little bit economically sound than others. The houses were having toilets as well as bathrooms. The wastes were allowed to flow to a septic tank. But rainy season was a big problem for these toilets as the water tables used to rise and the drain came out from the toilets. The village had open gutters flowing all around and was a major breeding hub for mosquitoes. The third village we visited had a surprise for us and welcomed us with a home prepared food with the country side taste. Very well prepared 9-10 varieties and to end it up, we were offered Kheer (porridge). After resting for a while and brief talks with the SHG leaders, we headed back to Guntur. We realized the potential these villages have to install EcoSan toilets. With enthusiasts and dedicated people, I am sure that sanitation will not be a dream for these villagers. It was a very much enriching experience to understand the state of Sanitation in the rural side. I hope that all the villages in India will cope with the problem of Sanitation and help to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
(Few Pictures of the trip here)
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