Bengaluru youth help Chennai against all odds

Ganesh, who is an integral part of the team, says, “We are not working under any umbrella, we are just a few friends who have come together to help our fellow countrymen who have been undergoing one of the biggest natural calamities. We are 8-9 people who are from an event management background or IT professionals. So far we have sent 4 cars and two trucks. Till there are request for help from Chennai, we will continue to help the people.”

On the challenges faced by them, he says, “Besides the hurdle of managing this and office work, there were several problems that we came across. Firstly, our vehicles were stopped by political goons but we had some local help from Chennai who helped us in executing the work. Then there were times, when our volunteers traveling to Chennai were not reachable. My phone received about 120-150 calls as some of the volunteers were not reachable; they had diverted their calls as well.”

These volunteers have been coordinating from various places like Malleswaram, Sanjaynagar, Indiranagar, Madiwala, Banashankari, Whitefield, Shantinagar, Marathahalli, Frazer Town and Kamanahalli. The promotion activity was mostly done through facebook and whatsapp. The response from various sources in contributing materials like blankets, durable food items, mosquito repellants, sanitary napkins, medicines, torches, raincoats, umbrellas, has been overwhelming. Those willing to contribute, please call at 9945187111, 8147558586, 8050774325, 9686201131.

Narrating her experience, she said, “It started raining on Sunday night. I went to work on Monday, but by Tuesday, it was pouring. It was pitch dark even at 10 am, and our office declared a holiday in the afternoon. Autorickshaw drivers refused to drop me to our area, saying it was deep under flood waters. But I was determined to reach home and I walked all the way back, at times wading through waist deep waters. As our house is on the ground floor, it started flooding on Tuesday evening. My husband had called me on Monday night and told me that he was reaching Chennai. That was my last call with Vinay and I decided to wait in the house. There was no power, my cellphone had completely drained and I had no way of contacting my husband. I did not want to go out of the house as I was scared of open manholes on the streets. Rescue teams evacuated me on Wednesday evening, and I did not take any documents or valuables from the house. They dropped me at a temporary rescue shelter at a mall and provided us food. At the shelter, I stayed up the entire Wednesday night.

“My husband and his friend reached Chennai and with the help of local residents, Vinay tracked me down to the mall on Thursday night. We decided to go to our house as I had not locked it properly. Even though the water level was very high, we stayed in the house and left only on Friday morning. Vinay had lost all his money in the water and was left with only Rs 300. We wanted to take a government bus, but the conductor did not allow us as we did not have enough money for the fare. Then we convinced a private bus operator that we would pay once we reached Bengaluru and travelled back,” she said.

Mr Vinay Kumar said, “I had to struggle a lot to trace her in Chennai. This incident has

brought us closer and strengthened our bond.”