AFTERMATH OF FLOOD HAVOC IN CHENNAI
AN APPEAL FOR HELP !
Dear Clients,
Pranams & Greetings to you ! What a great Tragedy for millions of people living in the great city of Chennai considered to be the safest place so far!
None could have imagined a disaster of this magnitude at all and that too before they could recover from the shock caused by heavy rains in November !
The extent of loss & set back faced by the Residents cannot be measured in terms of money or described in words! Though the flood has ruined most parts of Chennai, a few areas have been damaged beyond repair.
People living in Ground Floor were the worst affected & many of them have lost their lives too!
The list of belongings lost included Textiles, Furniture, Electronic Items, Beddings, Cash, Jewelleries, Certificates, Documents, Title Deeds and so on… Many lost their beloved pets too! The agony of students losing their Books and Notes were pitiable. Many Professionals including Musicians lost their special equipments which cannot be replaced just like that !
Some of the Banks & Offices have virtually lost their Records & it is bound to take long process for retrieval.
Business people & industrialists were the worst affected, having lost enormous materials and Equipments worth lakhs and Crores! The shock for Real Estate people is awful! The list goes on ….
This apart, the sufferings faced by the Residents during the period was extremely pathetic. For over a week there was No current, No water, No Food, No Communication facility, No Medicines, No Transports, No Shops …
Due to lack of communication facility it was practically impossible to help even the close relatives & friends and save them! This resulted in major anxiety and tension for almost everyone! The Mental tension was still worse for people from other places in India and Abroad who were witnessing the Tragedy through Television and trying to contact over phone/E-mail repeatedly.
Anyhow the worst period is over now and the city is limping back to normalcy, though water logging & power cut continues in some places!
Coming to our office in Ashok Nagar we were also affected much. Water level reached more than 4 feet destroying our furniture, computers, Invertors etc. Fortunately our residence is upstairs & hence we escaped!
But our sister concern Chennai Sai Muruga Matrimonials (For All other caste) functioning at 12th Avenue near Jafferkhanpet was totally ransacked as water level was more than 8 feet. There were pitiable calamities of at least 3 couples in the area itself. We have lost all our equipments and have to rebuild everything from scratch! However, we console ourselves by comparing with others!
We have more than 15 staff members and almost all of them are ladies hailing from middle class families! While everyone has undergone the sufferings, some of them have lost very heavily. A Staff member from Jafferkhanpet residing in Ground Floor rushed from our office on getting the news of flood but could not salvage anything as the water level came upto 2nd Floor. She came crying and weeping to my house and it was practically impossible to console her ! She is the lone Bread Winner taking care of her parents also !
Similar was the case of another member from West Mambalam residing in Ground Floor who lost all her valuable possessions! They are already in heavy debts!
Another lady member’s husband, having a small industry at Ekkattuthangal lost all his Machineries and Equipments worth in lakhs. They are also already in financial problems!
Our Security person serving in our office for over 15 Yrs has also lost all his belongings in Adambakkam and is practically penniless.
The list goes on ….
No doubt some help has been extended by the Govt. & Voluntary Agencies especially for poor and down trodden.
But for middle class people who already find it difficult to make both ends meet, it will be extremely difficult to cope up with such heavy losses.
What they have acquired over years & years of hard work and savings, have been lost in the Flood in no time! What a pity!
I have pacified the members and assured them to do what best I can. If I can mobilize some more resources from our kind hearted clients, It will enable me to do much more for them. After all, these are the people instrumental for so many marriages taking place through Sai Sankara!
Maha Periyava had been advocating repeatedly the need for formation of Welfare Trust for pooling the resources and distributing for noble causes. Bhagwan Baba used to say Everyone should act like a Trustee while spending his own money also. I am glad that many Trusts are doing yeomen services for the society.
We also propose to promote a Trust very shortly for promoting various social, educational and cultural activities besides helping the deserving people at times of need like this. We would also like to focus on Blood Donation and helping the cause for Differently abled. We will be informing the details very shortly.
Mean time I will be very much thankful if you can extend your monetary help to our staff members which will go a long way in boosting up their morale and confidence. A portion will also be utilized for mitigating the sufferings of needy others.
You can make the contribution by way of online payment or Cheque in favour of myself . The details of my S.B. A/c is as follows
Name : N. PANCHAPAKESAN
SB A/c No. : 086801000004400
Bank : Indian Overseas Bank, West Mambalam Branch, Chennai – 600033
IFS Code : IOBA0000868
After making On Line Payment, kindly note to send us the details of payment by E-mail to saipanch@gmail.com including the Bank, Branch, Date of payment, Amount, Transaction Number, Sender’s Name, Address, Regn Number etc. without fail. Do mention the purpose as Flood Relief Fund.
It is said that the calamity could have been averted if the discharge of water had been made little earlier. If it is true, it is no doubt a major blunder. If there had been any further delay, it would have resulted in thousands of death. Thank God it has not happened ! Instead of focusing our energy on the blame game, let us focus on what to do next taking it as a big lesson ! Let us be grateful for all those Government Officials, Doctors and Volunteers who have toiled and moiled to bring back normalcy on a war – footing basis.
The calamity has also taught us various valuable lessons including the need for better Town planning & preservation of lakes and its proper maintenance.
Normally in Flats people will not be knowing even their neighbours. Now people know the importance of unity and pleasure of maintaining cordial relationship with others.
It has enhanced the value of Manithaneyam among the residents & kindled the spirit for helping others without any expectations! Since people have faced the worst calamity now, they will become bold enough to face such adversities if any in future without becoming panicky.
For those who are affected badly, I extend my very sincere sympathies and concern! You might have lost everything but still your body & life are worth Crores & Crores!
Kindly console yourself by comparing with others who are more unfortunate! If possession is lost, it can be regained. But if self – confidence is lost, everything is lost !
I hope the day is not for off to see our beloved Chennai, Transforming itself with more Safety, more Beauty and more Glory in the days to come like what happened in Japan. After all, Life is hope and Hope is Life!
I once again appeal to you to extend your maximum contribution which will go a long way in boosting up the energy and morale of our staff members & others!
Kindly acknowledge & share your experience too !
With kind regards !
N. PANCHAPAKESAN, Founder, Chennai Sai Sankara Matrimonials
Cell : 98403 30531
You are welcome to acknowledge and send us your Feedback to saipanch@gmail.com |