While celebrities and people from different walks of life have been contributing for the rehabilitation of the Kerala flood victims, as many as nine IAS officers from Telangana have voluntarily come forward to do their bit. The District Collectors of Mahabubnagar, Kamareddy, Wanaparthy, Mancherial, Yadadri, Warangal (Urban), Karimnagar, Sangareddy and Nirmal are collaborating on the relief operations in the flood ravaged state and coordinating rehabilitation efforts. Apparently, Mahabubnagar Collector Ronald Rose was the man behind the idea.
“I thought it would be nice if all of us Collectors could voluntarily chip in and come together to help the cause. When I discussed it with my friends, the other Collectors, they were all game to contribute,” explains Ronald.
The plan entailed sharing the relief material amongst the various Collectors before it was sent out to the relief camps. “We decided to send 5,000 back-to-home kits, with each kit consisting of 28 essential items,” shares Ronald, adding, “We arranged for a lorry to go directly to the six locations in Kerala where the requirement is. 3,000 kits have already been sent so far while the final consignment will be sent in a couple of days.”
The back-to-home kits were carefully designed, based on the administrative and disaster management experience of these nine officials. Each kit consists of essential items such as rice, pulses, coconut oil, sugar, salt, soaps, toothpaste, sanitary napkins and blankets, to name a few.
Interestingly, though the Collectors are in different locations, they are constantly following up on the relief operations.
Suryapet Collector Surendra Mohan says, “We all have a WhatsApp group and everyone is kept posted of any new developments. We also emulate the ideas of Collectors from other districts if they are working out well. We sometimes even spread the word via Twitter,” he says.
Swetha Mohanty, Wanaparthy Collector adds that they believe in the ‘esprit de corps’ philosophy. “It’s not the quantum of the contribution, but the intention to come forward for the cause that matters,” she reveals, adding, “Several volunteers from various districts came forward and helped us get to this contribution.” Meanwhile, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) volunteered and college students from various districts have come forward to collect the items, organise and pack them accordingly.
The entire activity has been taking place at the TSIPARD in Rajendra Nagar. The CEO of Telangana State Institute of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development (TSIPARD) and IAS officer Pausumi Basu, has loaned the premises for this purpose and is personally overseeing the relief operations.
