Flood wrecks havoc in Gujarat, Christian relief efforts intensifies

Ahmedabad – Incessant rain resulting in floods have killed 135 people and affected 25 million in Gujarat, even as Christian relief agencies are underway.

Several churches and Christian institutions including a printing press ended up under water after heavy rains lashed the state late June. The government estimates the total flood damage so far at some Rs. 5000 crores (about USD $1.15 billion).

Across the state at least 250,000 people have been evacuated and the government is gearing up for more, because the meteorological department has predicted more rain.

Most Christians in Gujarat live in Anand, Kheda and Vadodara districts, the areas hit worst.

The floods have forced several factories in the state to close. Parts of Surat, a major center for the textile and diamond polishing industries, were neck–deep in water, which affected thousands of daily wage laborers.

Many Church schools have become relief camps. Rosary School in Vadodara now houses more than 2,000 people.

"We are trying to do whatever we can. Especially our social–service section is already in the field overseeing health and temporary shelter programs," said Jesuit Bishop Godfrey de Rozario of Baroda. He said the basement of the bishop's house was flooded for more than a week.

Bishop de Rozario said the local Church's Caritas agency and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the international social–service agency of the U.S. Catholic bishops, have conducted a survey to assess the needs of the affected people.

Father K.T. Mathew was among those without drinking water for days. "There was nothing to drink, leave alone for the other needs. As long as the rains were there, we collected the rainwater for our needs," the Jesuit priest said. He manages Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, the Church's publication center based in Anand, near Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat.

Robert Rathod, a Catholic, swam part of the way to safety from his submerged village. "We ran out as soon as the water began to rise. We didn't have time even to release our cattle or salvage any of our belongings," he recalled.

Many Christian institutions and some churches are under water. The press at Anand suffered heavy damage as floodwaters submerged machinery and stationary.

Losses ran into several hundreds of thousands of rupees, its managing director, Jesuit Brother S. Abril said. He reported that the water rose to a height of one meter inside the building.

Fr. Mathew said hundreds of villagers around Anand were submerged, and people had no food or drinking water.

Bishop Thomas Macwan of Ahmedabad blamed an elevated highway for the flooding. "This is a man–made trouble," he claimed.

The highway, one of the most prestigious road projects in India, connects Ahmedabad and Baroda (or Vadodara.) "The expressway acted as a bund (embankment) to stop the natural flow of water," the bishop explained. However, the rains caused many portions of the highway to cave in, and floodwaters then submerged much of Gujarat, catching authorities unawares.

According to Bishop Macwan, the state is now experiencing "the heat of development," and this year's flood is the first sign. "I was born and brought up in this area, and this is the first time in my memory that rains have brought flood," he said.