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The News Minute has started an online campaign, "Help Chennai", on Ketto to help victims of the

Chennai flood across affected regions. We will be providing emergency food rations, water,
sanitation facilities and hygiene support to the affected people.
Zomato: For every Chennai Flood Relief meal bought for two by individuals, Zomato will buy
one and have them delivered to those in need. On Wednesday, Zomato temporarily put on hold this
service after users bought over 55k meals and the company sponsored another 55k meals.
The service can be expected to resume on Thursday afternoon, depending on Zomato's distribution
of the earlier batch of orders.
"We're pausing to ensure our restaurant partners aren't choked. We want to deliver well on the trust
you placed in us. We will find more capacity tomorrow and try to switch this on again,"
- See more at: http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/want-help-tn-flood-affected-contact-thesepeople-donate-money-relief-material-36521#sthash.l5FOwfOZ.dpuf

In the absence of phone lines and power supply, social media updates from outside and
inside the state are playing a major role in tracing people trapped in the flood-hit areas.
Kashmiris living in other parts of India are posting details about their stranded relatives
on various flood-related social media accounts.
"Social media plugs disaster mgmt [management] holes," reads a banner headline in
the Hindustan Times.
The paper says social media has become the "most reliable" tool to inform rescue
teams about the location of the stranded people.
Facebook and Twitter have served as sounding boards for panic-stricken people
desperate for information," it adds.
The Indian army is also using the social media to save the lives of people.
The army is passing on messages received on its website, Facebook page and Twitter
handle to senior commanders on a WhatsApp group who then forward them to ground
troops, the DNA newspaper reports.
Rescue officials said they have received over 450 distress messages in the last two days
through WhatsApp and text messages from people stranded in various parts of Kashmir,
the NDTV website reports.

rom Wednesday, people can also use a Google application to find out the status of
missing persons, the CNN-IBN website reports.
The application, called "Person Finder", will allow people to post and search the
whereabouts of their relatives or friends affected by the disaster, it adds.

s an odd feeling seeing Chennai and flood in the same sentence. To give a perspective on why its so
odd

Chennai gets rain from the North East monsoon which starts from October. Every year
low pressure areas are formed above the Bay of Bengal and just as they are heading
towards Tamil Nadu, they take a U turn and hit Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West
Bengal. These are the regions that traditionally have flooding problems every year,
while Tamil Nadu is left reeling under droughts year after year.
This year too there were no rains in sight until the end of October and everybody was
bracing themselves for yet another year of water shortage. Then comes November and
Tamil Nadu, more specifically Chennai was hit with one cyclone after another. This last
month the rains broke all records with an unprecedented 1218 mm of rainfall, compared
to 493 mm in 2009 when we last had heavy rains.

We didnt need the records to prove how heavy the rains have been this year in
Chennai. Schools, colleges and offices were closed for most part of this month. Rivers
which have had more sewage than water and lakes which have been absolutely dry for
more than 20 years breached their banks leading to surrounding areas being
submerged, with water rising up to the 2 nd floor in some places. This resulted in
intermittent power cuts and limited mobile connectivity across the city. And all this
happened before the December 1stdeluge.

Just as the city was recovering from the last onslaught, it rained heavily non-stop for 2
days straight yet again putting pressure on the already burdened drains, bringing the
entire city to a standstill on December 1 st. This time the entire city had power cuts
lasting from 2 to 5 days! And with mobile networks becoming weak and the landlines
getting cut as well, it left the city dark and isolated. Never in the recallable memory has
Chennai experienced something so catastrophic, where even the connectivity between
people had been cut off completely for so long. If not for social media the entire city
would have been in the dark in more than one way.
Role played by social media:

Means of getting News and latest updates on the situation


With no current and water logging, watching news on TV or getting newspapers was not
possible for the first few days. And with radio signals being poor, social media accessed
through mobile phones became the most popular means of staying in touch with what
was happening in the city. Even with limited connectivity, having a charged mobile
became such a critical asset that along with food, water and other relief material, power
banks were distributed allowing people to charge their phones.

From weather forecast updates on skymet, to latest updates on Twitter of how


to commute from one point to another based on which roads the water had receded.

Helped stay in touch with family and friends

Every time the mobile signal improved everybody tried to reach out to their loved
ones by posting and commenting on Twitter, Facebook, etc., which happened
instantaneously unlike messaging which takes time to send or download, thereby
enabling communication before the signal went off again.

Even as normal calls were not going through, the calls made
through WhatsApp were having lesser drop rates, helping people stay in touch.

Facebook came up with Chennai Flooding safety check where by marking


yourself safe, allowed all your friends to know that you are doing just fine.

Helped in coordinating rescue and relief efforts

As #chennairains turned to #chennaifloods, the entire country started waking up


to the magnitude of the problems faced by Chennai, help started pouring from other
cities and rest of the world. A special mention to the people of Bengaluru who were
not just one of the first cities to respond, but they carried out similar efforts through
social media which backed the efforts carried out in Chennai through

People who were finding it difficult to contact friends, relatives or rescue teams in
other parts of the city, contacted people outside of Chennai, who then in turn got in
touch with media and rescue teams to get help or updates on their loved ones.

Even though lot of emergency contact numbers were doing the rounds, due to
weak signals getting through those numbers had become very difficult. As a
result Twitter (with #chennairains, #chennaivolunteer, #chennairescue and
#chennairainshelp trending) and Facebook became the go to places for everything
related to the rescue efforts, from listing out worst affected areas and their
requirements, putting out SOS and volunteering help. Knowing where and with what
to provide help, enabled common citizens to go out and volunteer in large numbers.
So much so that an army official was quoted saying that this was the first time he
saw more volunteers than people who needed to be rescued. They also helped in
coordinating rescue efforts between the volunteers, most of whom were common
people with no prior volunteering experience, the NDRF and the army. Due to this
effort more areas got covered with timely rescue and delivery, of the most needed
materials.

Apart from coordinating rescue efforts, groups like Chennai Rain


Relief on Facebook provided basic tips on how to rescue people and lists of dos
and donts.

chennairains.org a Google spreadsheet, listing help-line numbers, aid offers,


rescue requests, medical camps, volunteer details and accommodation
details, was widely shared so that people could fill in details or provide necessary
information to volunteers.

Groups like The Pound, The Chennai Adoption Drive, Blue Cross
Chennai and many such groups onFacebook helped in the rescue of many
stranded animals. Apart from providing medical care and temporary shelters, they
also helped unite pet owners with their estranged pets and find homes for the
homeless animals.

Chennai Rains, a weather blogging community put out regular weather forecast
updates and crushed many a rumours that were doing the rounds.

A crowd-sourced effort was carried out to map inundated roads in Chennai,


along with information on water-logged points and flood relief camps.

With ATMs being down Paytmand many such websites became the go to place
for anybody who wanted to donate money towards this cause.

While this years rains have left us with lots to ponder upon and lots to feel proud of, one
thing they have done is make people aware of the power of social media. This situation
has made even a person like me who has a Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest
accounts, just for the sake of it, to consider putting in more efforts towards maintaining
and building a network that goes beyond just close friends, so that the right people can
be reached at the right time.

Petitioning Mayor, Chennai Saidai Samiyappan Duraisamy

War-Footing Flood Relief Needed in


Chennai
On November 3rd, a Chennai citizen had to turn hero to rescue an old woman
from a bus stranded on a flooded subway. Since then, the rains have gotten
worse and so have the floods. The City Corporation claims that they are
helpless with incessant rains and are doing 'their best'. But in reality, it is the
city's citizens who have to do their best to protect themselves and their homes.
Sign my petition asking the Chennai Mayor to take up flood relief on a
war footing and provide instant relief to the affected areas and citizens.
You must have seen photos and videos of flooding on streets and in houses
as well as trees falling on cars--many such images are going viral. Chennai
has come to a standstill. Schools and offices have been declared closed. The

floods are destroying roads and houses. This is our 21st century worldclass city with medieval water drainage facilities.
This is not an isolated, one-time issue. This is an annual event. Every year,
Chennai is hit by rains around October-November and every year, there is
serious flooding in low-lying areas. Sign my petition so that this problem is
fixed once and for all.
Chennai did not have this problem earlier. However, illegal encroachment of
lake beds and marshlands combined with the Corporation not conducting
proper de-silting has blocked the city's drainage network. This problem has
been further compounded by poorly planned pedestrian platforms that block
the road's water outlet.
The city is bracing itself for more heavy rains. The Mayor and the
Corporation need to take this problem seriously and launch full-scale flood
relief activities right away. Or else, there will be an even bigger loss of life and
property as Chennai drowns... only because we didn't plan ahead.
Sign and share my petition with as many people as you can so that we can get
the Corporation officials to act in time and save our cities

NDTV Dettol Banega Swachh India

A cleaner India will have a positive impact in eradicating health related diseases. We
are proud to partner with leading news channel NDTV's Banega Swachh India
campaign, to transform hygiene and sanitation habits across the country. As the
managing partner, we are responsible for the overall execution of the program across
the country that includes construction of toilet, communication and advocacy. CAF India
will oversee the operations of the implementation activities, including periodic
monitoring, strategic visioning, and donor reporting.
NDTV has launched Banega Swachh India, a 5 year ambitious program to address the
rising need of hygiene and sanitation in India. The campaign aims at creating
awareness about the importance of hygiene and sanitation, and also work with NGO
partners to support infrastructure for construction and maintenance of toilets. The twofold aim of this initiative is to create awareness about the importance of proper hygiene
and sanitation in rural India, and raise funds to build toilets.
The campaign will have a strategic three-pronged approach to achieve the project
objectives:

Building functional toilets at individual household level in rural and urban areas.
Creating awareness on use of toilets and other health and hygiene practices.
Campaign, centered on changing & educating nation's mind-sets about Hygiene
& Sanitation.

Program Strategy

Considering the fact that sticking to toilet-using behavior depends on various factors,
the program considers the following aspects when designing the program.
Well-designed Infrastructure: Will focus on user friendly and well maintained
structures, that protects privacy, has availability of water and proper information on its
usage and other benefits.
Innovative Technology: Appropriate technologies which are cost effective, affordable,
and culturally acceptable will be put in place for better sanitation outcomes.
Proper Maintenance and Up keep: Mechanisms to maintenance and upkeep, proper
plumbing and drainage facilities, availability of water with adequate and systematically
designed sewage systems, adequate mechanisms to maintain the sewage pipelines.
Promote Partnership: Develop operational aspects such as well-defined institutional
roles and mechanisms. Involvement of local stakeholder such as panchayat, Village
Health and Sanitation Committee (VHSC),urban civic bodies and convergence with
Swachch Bharat Mission of Government of India
Inclusive Approach: The participation of groups like person with disability and attention
to gender equality is the core cutting element of the program. The campaign will also
ensure gender concerns on safety, security and proper usage.
Campaign Pillar

Provision of Sanitation Facilities

Construction of toilets at individual household level in rural/urban location


User Freindly Structure
Maintenance and Upkeep

Communication to infleunce behavior and attitude

Social & Behavior Change Communication for hygiene education and practices
Community & Stakeholder participation
Advocacy with local institutions

Campaigns on Health & Hygeine

Awareness thrugh Focussed Campaigns


NDTV Hygeine Bus
Special Events on Global Hand Washing Day & other occa

Coverage
the campaign plans to cover a wide range of communities, from those living in remote
rural villages to small towns to slums in major cities low performing states where per
capita availability is very low, open defecations is very common and no access to
hygiene education.
The campaign will have preference for the following states:
*Source: Census data 2011 related to percentage of households with no penetration of
toilets
Within these states, specific village/block/districts will be identified with reference to:

The areas faced with the problem of open defecation as per Census data,2011
Where people do not have access to improved sanitation.
Slums and JJ Cluster in urban areas where water supplies are not separated and
facilities are often expensive.
Where cultural beliefs prevent people from using toilet latrines or practicing good
hygiene

Program Progress / Highlights

Campaign Launch:
This nationwide campaign got formally launched on 25th September 2014. As NDTV
and Dettol embark on this unique journey to make India clean and hygienic, the
legendary Amitabh Bachchan supports the cause as the campaign ambassador for
'Banega Swachh India.
As part of the campaign, a 12-hour live CLEANATHON in NDTV helped raise more than
Rs 281 crore, a step that will go a long way in making India a cleaner place to live in.
However, there is more that is required to be done to give back the much-deserved
dignity to each and every household of this country that lacks proper sanitation.
Hygiene Express:
As part of the program, Banega Swachh India Bus was flagged off in October, which will
cover around 400 villages across 8 states - Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand,
Chattisgarh, MP & Maharashtra. The objective of the bus will be to create awareness
around hygiene and sanitation through interactive videos, flyer distributions, posters,
hand-washing sessions and street plays.

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