Floods recede, India looks at restoring lives to normalcy

The receding monsoon floods in India paved the way for aid agencies and authorities to cogitate and work for the rebuilding of people's lives.

Authorities say the floods have caused more damages than the previous water floods that happened in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

"The floods have completely destroyed more than 31,000 homes in Bihar, 10,000 in Assam state and even took the lives of more than 583 people. Many are homeless, stranded and vulnerable to deadly diseases."

An undersecretary in Bihar's Disaster Management Department, Satish Chandra Jha, said, "Priority would be to help fund the rebuilding of homes in the affected area." The department also wants to build the houses out of brick on higher ground.

A depressed and heart broken farmer from Gaighat hamlet said, "We had nothing to lose but our homes, and we lost those."

UNICEF estimated, up to 5 million children in Bihar not being able to go to school due to either schools being flooded or are being used as shelters.

"Resuming education itself is the best psychological counseling for kids, even if it's under a tree," said Job Zachariah, acting head of UNICEF in Bihar.

Meanwhile, Christian Aid Agencies worldwide are unitedly working full fledged in the devastated areas.

Tearfund’s regional adviser in India, Prince David, described how towns in the Darbhanga district in Bihar state were submerged under five feet of water.

The Discipleship Centre (DC), Tearfund’s partner agency, has been distributing emergency food relief to some 2500 families in the region.

The Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) has distributed relief kits to families in the East Champaran district, as well as in Bihar, where 70,000 homes have been washed away.