ActionAid India will be launching an immediate response in the worst affected Chungthang area and reaching out to the villages which faced the brunt of the earthquake that rocked the Himalayan region last Sunday.
One of the first to reach these areas, ActionAid team has described the situation on the ground as an ‘ongoing crisis’, especially in pockets that remained inaccessible for many days. The rescue and relief efforts remain slow due to massive landslides and rains.
“There is a need for immediate intervention as some of the communities are yet to be reached with basic support. The extensive damage is also likely to create long-term livelihood scarcity and hence food security challenges,” says Banamallika Choudhury, program officer at ActionAid’s Guwahati regional office, who was part of the assessment team.
“Worst affected people had been living with failed Cardamoms crops for the last three years and dependent on the compensation money received from various hydro power project and the small shops and properties built with it. The quake destroyed their properties and with it they have lost their main source of survival,” says Swapan Singh, Programme Manager at the ActionAid’s regional office for the northeast.
“Besides immediate relief support, developing community capacity to respond to emergencies is the long-term answer,” says Mrinal Gohain, regional manager for the northeast of India.
For the immediate needs, ActionAid will be supplying temporary shelter materials, sleeping mats, torch, candles, and water purifying tablets etc.
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