Smiling is, as of now, the last thing the villagers of Supaul, Araria and Madhepura districts in Bihar have on their minds.
The Bihar districts bordering Nepal saw the fury of a rampaging Kosi river in the past month and till today relief work is still being carried out. The villagers know not of the exact figures but the ones that can count provide a ghastly statistic: more than 3 million of our brothers and sisters in over 2000 villages have lost in the excess of 2000 of their loved ones and property worth Rs. 500 crores.
Worst of all, the death toll is immense.
Damage Caused is Inhuman Even New York Times reported that it is the worst flood in the area in 50 years. India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared a "national calamity" on 28 August and the government earmarked $ 230 million in aid for the region. Relief work has been quick and on-going. The Indian army and non-government organizations operated the biggest flood rescue operation in India in more than 50 years.
Other parts of the nation have also risen to the occasion beautifully. After all, how can an Indian just watch in horror as her fellow countrymen are battling the rampages of an overflowing river?
Mumbai Fire Brigade sent its 22 member disaster management team to help in relief work. Many NGOs and organisations have started relief work and are looking for individual donations to help quickly meet the needs of the public.
Put a smile back Every soul with means to provide and a well-meaning heart wants to put a smile back on the displaced villagers of northern Bihar.
For this reason, Stylus Systems Pvt. Ltd. has formed an action committee for a large scale project in and around Bangalore city areas. It is a community based interactive project, involving Stylus Systems Pvt. Ltd., Residents of Banaswadi, Jalavayu Vihar, Sena Vihar, K.R. Puram and the management and workers of a water treatment factory from the locality and many more from other parts of the city.
The community based volunteers are mobilizing resources / aids under the banner of Stylus Systems Pvt. Ltd. with the help of the employees and the Management. One of the features of this program is to involve the community into the service rather than treating them as a mere contributors. The collections are handed over to Indian Red Cross Society, Bangalore.
You can help too Residents, businesspeople and workers of different companies in the surrounding areas have donated generously for the noble cause. As their hearts moved with the flowing news of the tragic incident, they got up and helped us in whatever way they could.
Moving further, Stylus Systems wishes to expand and involve as many people as possible. We're not restricting help from Bangalore alone.
We would be more than happy to involve you into the project as an individual community from your locality / city. If you are interested you may please join with us as volunteers and may send us your contributions.
Contribution of funds should be a crossed Cheque or DD, in favor of "Indian Red Cross Society, Bangalore"
Mail to: Bihar Relief Fund
Stylus Systems Pvt Ltd., 924, 5th A cross, Ist block, HRBR Layout, Bangalore - 560 043
All donations and contributions are exempted under Income Tax under section 80G of Income Tax Act 1961.
Remember, the magnitude of destruction caused by this flood is higher than Hurricane Katrina, Super Cyclone and Tsunami. We might not have seen or spoken or even know any of those affected in Bihar floods personally. But right now our Northern Bihar brothers and sisters need us to help them get back with their lives.
Smiling is, as of now, the last thing the villagers of Supaul, Araria and Madhepura districts in Bihar have on their minds.
Other parts of the nation have also risen to the occasion beautifully. After all, how can an Indian just watch in horror as her fellow countrymen are battling the rampages of an overflowing river?
Moving further, Stylus Systems wishes to expand and involve as many people as possible. We're not restricting help from Bangalore alone.