As the annual floods once again left behind a trail of devastation in Assam, the people of the state have rallied together to offer a helping hand to those in need.
From offering donations to the chief minister’s relief fund to organizing fund collection drives on the streets to mobilizing help through the social media – efforts are on by the general public to help their fellow human beings who have been victims of the floods.
At its worst this year, over 57 lakh people in 31 districts, out of a total of 33 districts in the state, were affected, and more than 80 people have died so far. Many parts of the state are still reeling under waters.
Volunteers of different youth and students’ organizations were seen collecting monetary donations across Guwahati, urging the people to contribute their bit for the cause. One such organization had come up with the idea of offering a sampling in return of the donation, which found quick favour with the people.
Singer-music composer Zubeen Garg, too, took to the streets to collect donations for the flood victims, with his fan club picking up the momentum and launching a citywide drive in Guwahati for the cause.
The Sikh community of the state, too, came out in the hour of need and reached out with aid for the flood-affected people. The Khalsa Centre, Northeast, came together with a section of Guwahati media and served cooked food in relief camps under Sonapur circle of Kamrup (Metro) district.
The All Assam Sikh Youth Association too took to serving cocked food in Morigaon, Kaziranga, Lakhimpur, Guijan, Jhajimukh and Dhubri, among other places. They also undertook drives for carrying out sanitation and hygiene-related activities in some of the affected areas.
Media houses in Guwahati, as in previous years, have already initiated donation collection drives for distribution among the affected people. The social media has also been put into use for donation collection, with many people from the state settled outside using their contacts through the social media to help their home-state during this hour of devastation.
Women’s groups on social media became especially proactive to collect sanitary napkins and infant diapers for distribution in the relief camps and affected areas. Bringing innovation to the collection drive, an educational institute of Guwahati, Pragati Edutech, has organized flash mobs at three shopping malls of the city for collecting flood relief materials.
Alongside these efforts on mobilizing and distributing relief on their own, organizations, as well as individuals, have come forward to make monetary donations to the CM’s relief fund.
The News Mill too is running a fundraiser for the food relief.
