A group of volunteers from Chennai are set to extend a helping hand to the northeast States, particularly Assam which was worst affected by the floods. They have mobilised 20 NGOs, a few colleges and students in the city to collect relief materials for Assam, Meghalaya, Tirupura, Mizoram and also Bihar. The first batch of volunteers will travel by train to the states with relief materials on July 25.
Speaking to Express, A R Vinoth Kumar, one of the admins of the Flood Volunteers WhatsApp group, said that over 26 material-collecting points had been set up in Chennai alone. Also, relief materials are being collected from Madurai, Bengaluru and Kerala. The floods in northeast states, particularly in Assam, do not receive the same attention as the 2015 Chennai floods did because of ignorance among people.
"We could collect materials by explaining the sufferings of the victims there. In Assam alone, 1.2 crore people are estimated to be affected, and the weathermen predicted more rains. It's really an alarming situation," said Vinoth. Another volunteer M Bhuvanesh Raj, who will be travelling to Assam with relief materials, said, "We started collecting materials only from Friday. Initially there was not much response, but we started posting memes on social media with pictures of flood-affected areas and victims. After that, slowly calls to our number have increased."
"So far, six colleges in Chennai have come forward to help. One box will be kept at each of these colleges under the control of one volunteer. Though we have planned to travel on July 25, we might change the dates, depending on the relief materials we collect," added Bhuvanesh Raj.
The volunteers also said that after telling pictures of rhinos resting on a patch of land at the Kaziranga National Park which was entirely under water, the group is mobilising rescue equipment and also manpower to rescue the dying animals in the park. The group has also begun to share the messages on social media including Facebook seeking helping hands with hashtag #Chennai4Assam.
For details, contact A R Vinoth Kumar @ 9600115429 and M Bhuvanesh Raj @ 8825698484.
