CHENNAI : Following Cyclone Michaung, normalcy seemed a long road for the city. Even though few pockets still battle rain-related woes, the city is slowly recovering with active support of volunteers who ensured relief aid reached the needy on time.
TNIE spoke to volunteers on the field about mobilising resources and social media played a huge part despite poor connectivity for several days.
Ansar from Korattur has an active volunteer group of 50 members. The volunteer network built during pandemic came in handy during this cyclone. With contributions from several groups and volunteers, Ansar and his friends were able to deliver food to more than 7,000 people in Korattur, Padi and Anna Nagar.
“We split ourselves into two groups. While one group contacted and verified the needs, the other went to the field to collect and deliver. We coordinated through a WhatsApp group,” said Ansar.
Sangeetha from Korukkupet has experience in relief activities since the tsunami in 2004. According to her, major relief activities are difficult without government contribution. “Goverment is the biggest agent and volunteers can only fill in the gaps,” she said.
Sangeetha along with her group of volunteers coordinated evacuation measures by verifying details of people and informing officials. Releif material are provided to stranded homes through boats.
However, according to volunteer Sudha Ramamoorthy, south Chennai is better than north Chennai. “Due to poor network and heavy inundation, areas in north Chennai could be reached only on Wednesday,” she added.
Anantha Reshmi, who organised food in Perumbakkam and Pallikaranai, said, “One request will be repeatedly shared. We needed a dedicated set of volunteers to verify requests. Friends from other districts with signal helped in providing verified requests and crowdsourcing funds,” she said.
Engineer Gunaseelan developed a seperate website (chennaihelp.ing) with all information pertaining to relief activities. “I was developing the site as a prototype for rural areas. But I designed it for Chennai where all information can be accessed in one place. Such a site is vital for emergency situation like cyclones,” he said.