KL Report
SRINAGAR
Caritas India in partnership with Catholic Social Service Society (CSSS) of J&K has initiated the 2nd phase of relief and reconstruction in Pulwama and Islamabad districts of South Kashmir, a statement issued by the organization said on Sunday.
“The second phase covers several villages that were devastated by the floods in September. The NGO was engaged in relief work in the state immediately after the floods and reached out to several districts in both regions of the state. The relief in the first phase focused on provision of clean drinking water, sanitation kits, non-food items and medical assistance. Thus, Caritas and CSSS were able to reach out to more than 5000 needy people in the state,” the statement said.
Based on the sector assessment conducted by the experts of Caritas with the help of local staff after the first phase and with inputs from the district administration, CSSS finalized its 2nd phase of relief work on winter mitigation assistance, ration, feed & bran for livestock and temporary shelters.
“The NGO lays stress on creating synergy with the district administration and community in the efforts to reach out with relief. Thus the team is constantly in touch with Auqaf committees of the villages concerned to identify and finalize the names of the needy people,” the statement said adding, “After verification by its own team, the list is later shared with the district administration.”
“CSSS and Caritas have strong sense of community development and they give priority to community participation in all activities. Such measures ensure that the benefits of the relief reach the most deserving person,” claimed Altaf Hussain, the Program Officer of CSSS.
The statement while giving details of second phase of its relief operations said, “It includes construction of 50 temporary shelters in 6 villages of Pulwama district for those who lost their houses to the floods. Of these 28 are being constructed in Reshipura village, 17 KMs from Pulwama. There is ration for 1200 families, so that they can manage the harsh winter without much trouble.”
CSSS has created a network of retail vendors in Pulwama for the smooth distribution of ration. “Another 1200 families get winter mitigation kits that include Pheran, Socks, foam and Kangdi among others. Additionally, 500 families are being given feed and bran for livestock.”
It further said that CSSS is also planning to adopt a few schools in the district to provide educational support to the students who lost study materials in the floods.
The 2nd phase is expected to continue till March 2015, the statement concluded.
