The Assistant Executive Director of Caritas India, Fr. (Dr.) Jolly Puthenpura made his visit to Jalpara village of West Karbi Anglong district of Assam and distributed hygiene kits to 107 affected families. The families assembled at the delivery location to accept the kits. Fr. Jolly visited the Assam flood response areas and had a rapid review of the progress of relief activities on July 21, 2022.

He also visited Jaithera village of Hojai district on the next day, where he distributed finance assistance and shelter repair support family cards to 20 families whose houses were fully destroyed in the floods. He also paid a visit and interacted with the household members whose houses were damaged by the calamity.  Caritas India has reached out to the mixed communities of ST, SC, OBC and minorities of remotest villages of West Karbi Anglong and Hojai districts and where no other NGOs have reached so far. These people are residing along the Kapili river which brought this devastating flood.

Floods in Assam have bought devastation to the region inflicting a huge blow on the population and infrastructure of the North Eastern state. Based on the latest official updates the number of people affected has now reduced to 17,000 and water has receded in most regions.

However, the suffering of the people remains as households are assessing the scale of damage caused by the flood waters. People from the marginalised and vulnerable communities are facing the brunt of the aftermath. Numerous among them have lost their shelter and are now completely dependent on relief support for sustenance. Moreover, people are struggling for necessities like access to clean drinking water, food, and other basic services. Small farmers and daily wage labourers have especially taken a hit due to the destruction of crops and loss of belongings, respectively.

Caritas India is relentlessly expanding its relief efforts on the ground, encompassing a maximum number of people under the ambit of its broader support system. We are continuing our service of providing relief in terms of WaSH, food and shelter kits. We are simultaneously working on WaSH promotion by carrying out handpump cleaning/repairs and awareness generation for the masses.

To date, Caritas India has reached 20,000 affected populations with its humanitarian response. As a response 3785 Hygiene Kits, 907 food kits and 700 shelter kits were distributed in three districts namely Hojai, West Karbi Anglong and Cachar. Access to safe drinking water is ensured in villages by cleaning and repairing 7 handpumps and tube wells affected by floods in Hojai district with the permission and support of PHED.

Further, Caritas India will also be cleaning more handpumps across Hojai and in other districts of Assam. In partnership with UNICEF, Caritas India will work on solving the WASH issues of the flood-affected places in the district of Barpeta and Nagaon. Installation of Gender segregated toilets, water filters and disinfectant units, etc will be a part of the response in the coming weeks. We have also reached a population of more than 7000 individuals with WASH promotion and awareness generation activities through Focused Group Discussions, common meetings and door-to-door pamphlet distribution. Further, we are planning to benefit 2,576 households with fund transfers to alleviate their suffering and help them in rebuilding their lives.

Caritas India will also be responding to the floods in the states of Tripura, Meghalaya, and other districts of Assam.