The Mumbai Floods and the Intervention of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences:

A Report  

In the wake of the unprecedented rains and the consequent floods of 26^th and 27^th July 2005 large parts of Mumbai were badly affected. By the morning of 27^th July 2005 it was clear that a natural phenomenon was taking the shape of a major disaster. Given its longstanding experience in intervening in disaster situations the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) moved to respond to the disaster. Even as the Institute grappled with a large number of missing students, faculty and staff members calls were made to the office of the Chief Secretary and the Municipal Commissioner offering all possible assistance.  

It was clear from the outset that the people most at risk were those living in the sprawling slums of Mumbai, mostly in the low lying areas with poor drainage, many along overflowing drains and sewers. The M Ward in which TISS is located is home to a number of such settlements, many of which were in fact demolished in the recent demolition drive, these homeless people were particularly vulnerable.  

The TISS response essentially involved the Institute playing three major roles:  

a)      Relief work within affected communities through its students and faculty;

b)      Bringing NGOs and CBOs working with the urban poor together to assess, plan and strengthen relief and rehabilitation;

c)      Amplifying urgent relief material requirements of CBOs, NGOs and others working in the field and facilitating their sourcing and disbursement.  

Relief Work  

TISS swung into action on the 28^th July with its students and faculty visiting affected areas and engaging in needs assessment and relief work. Students Doctors and Social Workers began collaborating with local NGOs and CBOs to organize medical camps and other relief efforts. Over the next few days TISS students worked in and around affected areas in Chembur, Govandi, Mankhurd, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli and Panvel conducting medical camps and assisting organizations working with affected people in a range of ways (See Table 1).   

The tasks undertaken by TISS volunteers included needs assessment, surveys, setting up medical camps and distributing medicines, health education etc. The medical camps reached out to over 3000 affected families. At the same time TISS volunteers also began to mobilize resources needed for relief, both cash and in kind, through appeals to individuals and institutions.  

Mobilizing Resources for Relief  

On the 2^nd of August the GoM approached TISS with a request to help coordinate relief work in particular within the M Ward. However the resources given to the Institute were far short of the requirement. TISS moved into a role of mobilizing resources for relief and matching them with requirements and needs of local NGOs and CBOs working in the affected areas. In order to maximize its reach TISS appealed for help over FM Radio Channels, the Internet and through its extensive network of faculty, student and staff. The students of the Institute formed a small group that dedicated itself to resource mobilization from individuals, corporations and other institutions. Over the next week with a collective effort of students and faculty the Institute was able to respond to a wide range of requests for help in different parts of Mumbai even though it focused itself on M Ward.  

TISS played two different but equally important roles a) connecting donors directly with agencies thereby channeling resources to where they were most needed and b) sourcing, receiving, holding and disbursing relief materials that NGOs and CBOs working in the field identified as priorities. Some examples of the first kind included facilitating the supply of urgently needed essential drugs to locations as diverse as Somaiyya Hospital and rural Raigad (Panvel and Pen talukas) and provision of medicines and relief materials to affected families in Mumbra in Thane district. The Institute also facilitated the approval, release, transportation and distribution of two tons of food grains from the GoM within M Ward.  

Thanks to the credibility of TISS and the work put in by students and faculty TISS was able to secure significantly large donations of food grains from entities such as NTPC, Tata Power, Tata Relief and BPCL and items of personal hygiene in form of kits from HLL, medicines and medical supplies from Johnson and Johnson, Wockhardt, Universal Medicare, Hexaware Technologies etc in addition to medicines, clothes and other relief materials from a number of individual and institutional sources. The Institute was also able to raise funds from the Tulsi Trust to prepare family kits containing essential articles in collaboration with the College of Social Work that were distributed to affected families. The Institute has also secured a commitment from agencies like HPCL to support rehabilitation efforts (See Table 2 for more details of relief received and disbursed by TISS).  

The relief materials received by TISS were distributed among NGOs and CBOs working in affected areas on the basis of a collective and participatory needs assessment that involved a number of organizations working within the ward coming together to take stock of what was available or what was needed and decide where it was most needed and who was best equipped to reach it to the affected people. On the basis of these meetings as well as constant updates received from NGOs and CBOs working in the affected areas TISS dispatched relief materials to affected communities. TISS also received help from volunteers from SOSVA, TCS and Tata Power in this effort.  

Coordination and Advocacy  

On the 2^nd of August TISS convened and hosted a meeting of NGOs, CBOs and aid agencies from across Mumbai to attempt to make an assessment of the overall extent damage and priorities in terms of relief needs as well as outline specific measures that the Government and the City Administration needs to take. An advocacy group was formed at the meeting with a mandate to begin a dialogue with the Government on key issues such as provision of temporary shelter and food-grains, medical assistance, compensation and other rehabilitation needs in areas of housing, food security, health and education. This group proceeded to draft a detailed memorandum to the Chief Minister and this formed the basis for further ongoing dialogue with the Government regarding relief and rehabilitation.  

At the same meeting it was decided to adopt a decentralized approach to coordination and an attempt was made to establish loose mechanisms at the ward level. It was also agreed to reconvene ward wise on a regular basis to share information and other resources and meet as a larger group later to review the situation.  

Since then four meetings of NGOs, CBOs, citizens groups and other institutional entities located or working within M ward were convened at the TISS between 5^th and 11^th August. Officials from the BMC and the administration were also invited to some of these meetings to enable a direct and collective dialogue and quick problem solving. These meetings have become the basis of decision-making on the ward level strategy and have also guided the Institute’s own relief efforts.  

The Institute continues to play the role of a forum seeking to bring together NGOs, CBOs, the administration and other actors in order to ensure effective relief and rehabilitation of affected families.

17-08-05

Table 1: List of Areas in Which TISS Undertook Relief Work  

 Table 2: Summary of Relief Materials Received and Disbursed by TISS

 September 02, 2005