Unicef support brightens up faces in Kawas, Barmer, Rajasthan
Known for its sand dunes and gypsum, potters hamlet, Meghwals hamlet and Dunda village in Kawas block of Barmer, where every drop of water was precious and had to be asked for through prayers from God, the same water had suddenly become the cause of destruction and havoc. With a population of ten thousand people struggling for drinking water and hoping to get a bite of food the region witnessed the catastrophe of its worst kind. To the rescue of these hapless and vulnerable thousands came multilateral donor agencies, the government and various non-government organizations. At the rear end of Kawas village where 68 families were residing there was collection of 6-8 feet water even after 15 days of flood, which would not clear off before a month. A flood relief team from UNICEF had reached the affected area along with State Head of UNICEF, Satish Kumar and the Programme Officer Meenakshi Singh. They met with Dhanni Devi, Champa Devi, Meera Devi, Dala Devi, Mangi Devi, Saghanlal, Hemraj, Jetharam and shared their sorrows and pain of losing near and dear ones, livestock and their belongings and asked them for their immediate requirements. They were told that women and children were critically ill and due to water logging, malaria and dengue started showing their ugly faces. There were pregnant women who needed medication as well.
Deepak Roy, Project Officer, UNICEF, advised forty families to organize their camps in potters hamlet. Relief work was done on war footing with mapping of water-sources, supply of buckets, water tanks to store water, chlorination at source and household, indoor residual spraying of permethrin, caring for newborns, and making Drug Distribution Centers (DDCs) operational. Public Health Engineering Department restored the piped water supply in the affected populations. For the displaced populations, in camps, PHED has been providing chlorinated water through water tankers. Pitching tents in the soft soil was a mammoth task in the desert region but a basic tent was put up with the help of Chandan Sen Gupta, Consultant UNICEF. Gradually the local people contributed their labour to establish temporary habitat in the form of tents. As things were starting to settle down, they once again received a blow in the form of storms and further rains, which collapsed their little sheds. Struggling again, the affected women and children have started to put things in place and make life livable with the provisions like tents, tarpaulin, rope, water tank, buckets and the like received from UNICEF.
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