Even while the memories of that black day in the Himalayan temple town of Kedarnath was gradually fading from the public memory, a group of 12 students of social work and their faculty guide indicated that the townspeople there were in for harder days and might face starvation and suffering.
The social work students from School of Social work at Roshni Nilaya in Mangalore were one of the first groups of social work that reached Kedarnath temple and reach out to the people who have suffered the terrible catastrophe. “Things are bad. Their livelihood is gone. Shops, supplies, logistic helps, livestock and 75% of the people in the productive age have gone without a trace. And with the winter coming up, things appear to be very hard for those who survived,” said one of the team members, Sreejesh O V.
The Kedarnath temple and the services and goods that were sold and few logistics services were the only livelihood of the townspeople of Kedarnath, the pilgrim season that starts from May and ends in November. “The last season was completely wiped off due to the catastrophe and the after affects and just when the town was picking up pieces of its life, the winter began and pilgrims stopped coming, which meant that the ordeal of starvation, suffering and fear will continue till the new season begins in May,” said Avinand Achanahally of the group, which took up socio-psychological survey of the area covering 12 villages in Kalimath area.
At the time of the disaster, over 45% of the youth who were bread earners for 60% of the families in Kedarnath were at work; most of them have been swept off.
“The town is now suffering an acute shortage of young persons. There are many young widows and very young children and old folks, indicating the imminent imbalance in the human resources,” said team leader and faculty co-ordinator of the group Odessey Chongtham.
The team found 120 persons who would need immediate psychological care.
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