“We are currently travelling by boat inside what used to be Akaha village. This place now looks like a huge lake. It is very difficult to believe that just a month ago, this was a populated village. The only sign that there was a house here is a pole that is still standing and visible above the water. We get an idea of the water level only when we see that our boat is travelling close to tree tops.

There are still around 500 people in this village. Another 500 have come out onto the road. No Govt. relief material has reached this village as yet. Our volunteers have been working in this village for more than a week now. People called out to us to show us where their house had been before the waters came in.

But even in this desperate situation, there are small rays of hope – we saw a man who was physically challenged taking a class for children in the village on his own initiative. People have constructed their own tents and are somehow surviving. The resilience of people in these hard times is amazing.”

Balaji will be soon posting photographs from his field visit on this page.