During the severe floods in Kerala, the KIIT and KISS institutes stepped up to help the victims with medical and counselling assistance, says their founder, Achyuta Samanta.
The recent floods that hit Kerala were undoubtedly one of the worst natural disasters that the country had faced in decades. This calamity devastated the entire state, affecting more than a million people, displacing them from their livelihood, households, families and friends. The floods potentially increased the transmission of water-borne and vector-borne diseases appending to the already existing list of complications that Kerala was facing. Somehow, this situation of chaos and suffering tested us as a country. Help poured in different forms from all parts of the country and the globe. This gesture of help and care by many, reiterated our faith in humanity.
Individuals and organisations united at this time of devastation and destruction. It may be noted that the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) passed this litmus test with high scores following the footsteps of the Odisha Government, to lead the way in providing assistance to Kerala under the leadership of the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. If the flood of the century brought Kerala’s economy to its knees, it also brought in an army of good samaritans who came from all over the country to help people get back on their feet.
Immediately after the flood took its toll, two teams from KIIT and KISS were deputed to help Kerala fight this crisis. The Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) and the medical wing of the KIIT, extended its support by sending a 25-member team to render medical services to the flood-victims. The teams extended health services to victims in Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Thrissur and Wayanad districts for a month. The KIMS sanctioned a sum of Rs 10 lakh towards the tour expenditure of the team. I donated Rs 2 lakh from my Member of Parliament salary for medicines and other health kits that were most required. Our team of doctors took a ground level understanding of the situation wherever they visited before offering timely assistance to the people in need. Our doctors offered counseling and support to families and elderly mothers in rebuilding their houses which cascaded into the water and mud following landslides. In some areas like the Pilakav in Wayanad, around 40 houses at a stretch were submerged into the floodwaters which carried tonnes of mud, stones and large barks of trees.
The relief offered from KIIT and KISS in Kerala was primarily based in three parts: medical assistance, counseling and mapping the struggles that people faced during the floods and handling the post-flood situation which was primarily rehabilitation. In Thrissur district alone, our medical team focused on working with PHCs, district medical officers and the Special Task Force. In Wayanad, the team was split to offer door-to-door assistance in many tribal areas. Most people in the districts like Wayanad and Azhapuzha had lost their livelihood due to severe inflow of water. The floodwaters carried large amounts of mud which eventually destroyed the crops. For timely intervention in Kerala, the KIIT spared one of its most essential and important technical staff for a month to extend yeoman's service.
The people of Kerala bestowed praise to the KIIT team comprising of 75 skilled personnel for extending support and the much-needed support to the victims. The KIIT team of technicians offered door-to-door assistance to the affected homes. In due time, they established a social connection between themselves and the local people. As a result, the victims in several places requested our technical staff to extend their operation, which in itself is a mark of their exemplary service. The team of technicians offered help in terms of repairing electric appliances, rendered basic welding services, restoring drinking water connections and other plumbing related work in different households across different villages and wards. Divided into smaller teams, the KIIT technicians carried on their mission to fix the problems for a maximum number of victims. They have reached out to more than 1,000 households suffering from the flood havoc.
This service by KIIT and KISS is a fine benchmark of philanthropy that every individual of this institute is fundamentally involved in. This yet again shows what a university with compassion and care can do for humanity in times of need.
(The writer is the Founder, KIIT and KISS)