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Relief Work Relief Work
1979 ~ Floods of Morbi, Gujarat, India

The Damage
It is written down in history as ‘the worst flood disaster of the century in India.’ The floods that hit Gujarat in August 1979 left thousands of people and cattle dead. Thousands more were made homeless. Crops were destroyed and washed away.

The Relief Operation

The Sanstha set out immediately to help. Param Pujya Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Head of the Sanstha requested all Sanstha volunteers to go to Morbi immediately. This information was conveyed over the radio and newspapers. Funds were collected from all parts of India, England, America and East African Countries. Medicines and clothes were also collected.

Shelter
As the floods had taken everything in their path, thousands of people were left homeless. The Sanstha organised shelter for 10,000 homeless people in Gondal and Rajkot.

Food, Water & Clothes

  • For 15 days, 107 women volunteers of the Sanstha prepared food for 2,000 victims in Morbi.
  • 300 victims were provided with meals, snacks and lodging in Rajkot. 175 families were given cloths
  • 25,000 cups of tea were distributed free everyday for 13 consecutives days. The tea stalls run by the Sanstha were open 24 hours a day.
  • Clothes that had arrived from around the world and other parts of India were freely distributed to the people of Morbi.
  • Fresh and clean drinking water was a major problem. The Sanstha took care to provide fresh drinking water to everyone in the effected area.
  • 25th August 1979 was the Muslim holy day of Id - following the month of Ramzan. Food was a big problem. The swamis and volunteers of this Hindu Sanstha took up the service to cook food and prepare sweet dishes for 5,000 Muslims! The volunteers of the Sanstha then served all 5,000 people.

Medical Help
Volunteer doctors of the Sanstha were rushed in to the area to help the injured and sick. In total 1,650 people benefited from the medical help. Prevention vaccines against Cholera and Tetanus were also provided and given by our doctors.

Operation Clean Up
The floods brought with it everything. Those buildings that were not washed away were filled with huge amounts of mud and swampy garbage. A total of 1511 volunteers were sent to Morbi to bring order to the area.

During their 50-day stay in Morbi, the volunteers cleaned up:

  • 17 streets
  • 1,300 buildings
  • 9 factories
  • 5 banks
  • 9 shops
  • 6 clinics
  • 4 temples
  • 1 cow shed
  • The Morbi Engineering College.

 


© 1999, Bochasanwasi Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, Swaminarayan Aksharpith