ReliefWeb

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In Brief

Request for assistance No. 16/2004; Operations Update no. 10; Period covered: 1 July to 31 October 2005; Request for assistance coverage: 99.2%; (click here to go directly to the attached contributions list ) (click here for live contributions list)

Request for assistance history:

- Launched on 27 July 2004 for CHF 2,982,000 (USD 2,352,706 or EUR 1,929,189) for ten months to assist 250,000 beneficiaries.

- Operations update 7 reduced the number of beneficiaries to 200,000 due to low request for assistance coverage and delays in implementation, leading to a change in the vulnerability of targeted beneficiaries.

- Operations Update 8 extended the operational period by three months to 31 August 2005.

- Operations update 9 revised the budget down to CHF 2,034,911 and extended the timeframe by another two months (to 31 October).

- This operations update marks the end of the operation with remaining mitigation activities to be transferred to the disaster management programme of India annual appeal. A final report will be issued by January 31 2006.

Outstanding needs: CHF 16,898 (USD 12,880 or EUR 10,867).

Related Emergency or Annual Appeals: India Annual Appeal 05AA047, South Asia Regional Appeal 05AA051 Tsunami Emergency and Recovery Plan of Action 2005-2010 Operational Summary:

The emergency phase of the operation was completed (see operations update 8) assisting 37,350 families (approximately 186,750 people) with emergency food and non-food assistance in the states of Bihar and Assam. In addition to assistance provided through this request for assistance, approximately 300,000 received some form of health care from various Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) district branches in the two states.

The planned mitigation activities (which had been revised from the original request for assistance -- see operations update 9) were not able to be completed within the extended timeframe of the request for assistance. A long transition period following the leadership change in the IRCS during the reporting period caused significant administrative delays in the transfer of funds from national headquarters to branches. The delays combined with the arrival of the annual monsoon season resulted in little progress.

With the closure of this relief operation, the Federation and IRCS have proposed to transfer the remaining balance of approximately CHF 229,000 to the long-term disaster mitigation activities, including:

- Construction of 70 tube wells in Bihar;

- Construction of one raised platform and five toilets and five hand tube wells in Assam; and

- Procurement of 4,000 family packs as disaster preparedness stock.

Progress on these activities will be reflected in the regular Federation's programme updates under disaster management programme and IRCS annual report. Donors are requested to respond to this reallocation through the desk officer before 15 January 2006.

Background

The north-eastern states of Assam and Bihar were severely affected by heavy flooding in June/July 2004 as a result of the monsoon. More than 30 million people were affected and infrastructure and crops suffered severe and significant damage.

On 27 July 2004, the Indian Red Cross and the Federation launched a request for assistance, seeking to assist 250,000 beneficiaries with food and non-food relief items. The operation includes a disaster mitigation component, aiming at improving local capacities to cope with this recurring disaster. In the course of the operation, the number of beneficiaries was revised to 200,000 people, due to re-assessed needs in Assam, following initial delays in the distribution of relief items because of inaccessibility to some areas in the state.

Operational developments

After the approval of the revised mitigation elements proposed to the acting IRCS secretary general from the state branches of Assam and Bihar, a 50 percent working advance was forwarded to the Assam branch for initiating the activities. In Bihar, 37 raised tube wells have been constructed from locally raised resources, which will be reimbursed by the national headquarters.

The second disaster preparedness capacity building workshop was organized by the Bihar state branch and was facilitated by the Federation programme coordinator, the organizational development manager and the information and reporting officer.

The India delegation disaster management delegate visited the Assam state branch in September and identified the need to repair the regional warehouse. The delegate also visited the site for the raised platform. This investment will provide support to 5,000 families from five nearby villages. Five acres of land have been granted by the government and is ideally located along a state highway. The platform will be used in a multi-faceted way, as there will be a fishing lake created after the excavation work, which will provide revenue to maintain the platform. Moreover, the platform can be used during non-flood season for disaster preparedness trainings and other activities.

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In India: .S. P. Agarwal, secretary-genera l, Indian Red Cross Society; email: spagarwalsg@indianredcross.org phone: +91.11.2371.6441; fax:+91.11.2371.7454

In India: Jim Dawe, acting head of India delegation , New Delhi; email: jim.dawe@ifrc.org, phone: +91.11.2332.4203, fax: +91.11.2332.4235

In Geneva: Jagan Chapagain, senior officer , Asia Pacific department, email: jagan.chapagain@ifrc.org ; phone:+41.22.730.4316, fax: +41.22.733.0395; or Nelly Khrabraya, email: nelly.khrabraya@ifrc.org; phone: +41.22.730.4306 , fax: +41.22.733.0395

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org

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