Catholic relief agencies intensify relief efforts for Karnataka flood victims

Bangalore – Christian relief agencies are providing relief and distress counseling to people affected by unprecedented flooding that recently struck Karnataka.

The floods have severely affected the state's northern districts, and so far killed 118 people and destroyed property worth more than Rs. 1200 crore (USD $ 242 million). The area is part of Belgaum diocese, bordering Maharashtra state, where flooding in July killed more than 1,000 people.

Continuous rain and the release of water overflowing Maharashtra reservoirs are blamed for the flooding that officially have affected 1,250 Karnataka villages in Bagalkot, Belgaum, Bijapur, Gulbarga and Raichur districts.

According to Fr. Jack Menezes, director of Belgaum diocese's development society, most Karnataka villagers are now in relief camps. The seat of the diocese, Belgaum town, is 1,755 kilometers southwest of New Delhi.

Fr. Menezes said Christian relief agencies, helped by volunteers from various parts of Karnataka, have been concentrating on providing counseling and health services. The state government and army also are engaged in rescue operations.

Jimmy Mathew, regional manager of Caritas India, said that Church people are not only distributing relief goods but also counseling affected families. After touring the area and visiting affected villages, Mathew reported that people in shelter camps had to observe India's Independence Day on Aug. 15 in "chaos and agony."

According to UCA News, among local Church people helping the flood victims is Fr. Chacko Kelamparambil, who manages a hostel for blind children in a village on the Maharashtra border. The priest, a member of the Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called Claretian Missionaries, said, "We are first trying to get medical aid and food materials to the villagers." He also said his team is also searching for relatives of the hostel's more than 100 children, but many of them still have not heard from their families.

Also working among the flood victims is Jana Jagaran (people's vigilance), a Church group that mainly serves shepherds. The group, that also runs mobile veterinary clinics for cattle and domestic animals in Belgaum because the nomadic cattle herders refuse to leave their animals and go to relief camps, has conducted a survey to estimate the shepherds' losses. “[We] will also launch an animal husbandry project among villagers as part of our rehabilitation program,” Fr. Chelekkattu, director, Jana Jagaran, said.

Diseases such as diarrhea, malaria and fever have been reported in the area, because people must use water contaminated by exposure to floating carcasses.

According to Fr. Menezes, Belgaum diocese expects to undertake more rehabilitation work once relief agencies and their volunteers complete their immediate operations. The diocese has set up a 40–member Church team to help inundated missions, and local district collectors are supporting the team.