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Relief Work Relief Work
1997 ~ Floods of Gujarat, India

The Damage
Gujarat’s 1997 monsoon rains arrived with rare venom. In just 3 days (25-June-97 to 27-June-97), hundreds of villages become little islands as rivers broke their banks and flooded prime agricultural land, flowing several feet over roads.

  • Hundreds of villages became completely stranded for days and towns lay under siege cut off from the rest of the world.
  • A total communications breakdown resulted in many areas.
  • Roads and homes were swept away.
  • Rivers broke their banks and flooded prime agricultural area.
  • Some areas had power failure.
  • Thousands of tons of crops were destroyed.

The Relief Operation

The volunteers of the Sanstha fanned out in 5 districts: Dhandhuka, Surendranagar, Mehsana, Gandhinagar and Amdavad. Using small boats or by wading through waist-deep waters, sadhus and volunteers risking their own lives, rushed to support and comfort the victims.

  • 70,000 food packets were prepared and distributed along with other essentials to thousands of victims.
  • 300 families in the district of Mehsana were given cooking utensils free.
  • Volunteers distributed food and fresh drinking water to those stranded. In some areas, the volunteers reached these people by using specially requisitioned motor boats.
  • The members helped several hundred victims to reach safer ground, where hot meals and clothes were provided.
  • In certain areas medicines were distributed to prevent any diseases from spreading.

 


© 1999, Bochasanwasi Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, Swaminarayan Aksharpith