Weather Monitoring Installations: Helping Himalayan villages prepare better...

Jagat Ram, a 40 years old Gram Pradhan of Durlekh panchayat of Didihat block, Pithoragarh narrates that cloudbursts and landslides are the main hazards in his Gram Panchayat and how on 15 Aug 2004, a landslide destroyed his house, killed a girl in his village, shattering many lives in front of his eyes.

31-year-old Pushpa Devi of Munsiyari block, Pithoragarh also shares that the villages in her Panchayat are highly exposed to landslides caused by heavy rainfalls and floods. She says, ”In both 2008 and 2013, many households and cattle were washed away by landslides in Bhadeli village.”

Jagat Ram can be seen here

Like Jagat Ram and Pushpa Devi, a majority of the villagers in these Himalayan districts are farmers and their livelihood is directly linked to vagaries of weather conditions. On learning about the Pragya’s installations of weather monitoring stations in the number of villages, they appear hopeful that there would be less damage in such events now, as people could be alarmed beforehand. Pushpa Devi says, “It will not only warn us about the hazardous event but will also help us in getting adequate emergency supplies, in place, post-disaster.” 

Installation of weather monitoring stations is being piloted across 800 villages in 4 districts (Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, and Uttarkashi) under the project DMS Himalaya by Pragya. The project incorporates two tools namely “Go-Risk” which is an early warning tool with grassroots measurement grids and communication channels for pre-disaster use) and “RnR-Comm”, a component for relief and response information-sharing tool to help multi-agency response coordination for post-disaster use. These tools aim to enhance local self-reliance and improve the effectiveness of humanitarian support.

DMS Himalaya focusses on pre-disaster early warning system by strengthening the communities to be aware of early warnings through regular monitoring of weather conditions which can prevent loss of lives and damage to resources and livestock even if the disaster strikes. The young and enthusiastic local villagers are identified and trained to form Disaster Response Team (DRTs) to use these stations independently by conducting mapping, monitoring, and reporting on damage and relief, post-disaster. The identified Points of Presence (POPs), function as communication centers for isolated habitations in remote parts.  The initiative is further strengthened by forming resource hubs District Disaster Management Support Units (DDMSUs), for implementing DMS Himalayas effectively.

Weather monitor installed in  one of the clusters in Ukimath

“As far as I know this is first of its kind project. This will forewarn us about the disasters, and will save many lives” says Balwant Singh, a resident of Sitoli village of Didihat block in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.

These weather stations are gradually enabling the villagers in the Himalayan districts to prepare themselves for forthcoming calamities and helping them to build a disaster-resilient future for themselves! 

Safety gear distribution to migrant construction workers

The Himalayan district of Chamoli, Uttrankhand, India is a breathtakingly beautiful place. Over the years it has become a dwelling area for migrants hailing from states like Bihar, Jharkhand and the neighboring country of Nepal.  They carry a lot of hopes and expectations to live a better life for themselves and their family. But unfortunately, safe enabling living conditions to the workers here are limited. They live in shabby, cramped, unsafe homes in unhygienic conditions, and face painfully cold and harsh weather more often than not. To add to this, they often end up working in exploitative and hazardous working conditions.

Migrants working here face more than just the physical strain but are also plagued by a variety of health implications ranging from weakness, back and joint pain to concrete burns, cuts, as well as chronic illnesses such as COPD and TB. While working, they are exposed to dust and asphalt fumes without protective clothing, naturally leading to endemic health issues including eye, heart and lung diseases. The construction workers especially women suffer through skin diseases and infections. At times children are also present at the worksites, who are more vulnerable to catch common illnesses and infections compared to adults. Unfortunately, none of the authorities are interested to hear their health concerns and provide a solution. 

“We regularly face sliding rocks and mud. Many times we have suffocation and allied breathing problems due to sudden inhale of mud. To protect from mud we use homemade mask, mainly consisting of handkerchief or piece of cloth. This is insufficient as we feel suffocation after few minutes and remove them afterward. Some of us have reported coughing problems. Doctors at GREF has also advised us to wear the mask and protect from inhaling mud particles.” Says Gulu Marik, 25 years working in Malari Camp.

Pragya did a study of the hazardous work conditions and activities of the migrant workers in Chamoli. It was assessed that workers are not really provided with the necessary equipment while working in risky conditions which makes them vulnerable to various harmful health hazards as mentioned earlier. In view of that, the safety equipment distribution drive was planned, intended to reduce the mal-effects of occupational hazards and to ensure that they are able to protect themselves from other health hazards.

Pragya distributed safety kits and first aid kits to the migrant workers across six camps of migrant workers in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. The camps covered were in Birajkund, Birahi, Surai Tota, Long, Bhapkund and Malari. The workers were trained on health and hygiene, safety and first aid.

Reaching out to and training 578 migrant workers happened in an organized way. 600 safety kits and 12 first aid kits were distributed. Workers were provided with protective gear that includes vital protective and safety equipment like helmets, gloves, along with the relevant demonstration. The first-aid kit includes the necessary health equipment and medicines in case of an injury and burns. Through a session on health and hygiene workers were made aware of health risks and the role of personal hygiene in preventing certain illnesses. Since dwelling spaces in these areas are unhygienic and open where awareness on these issues becomes a necessity. Hence workers were also informed on the symptoms, preventive and protective measures for diseases like TB and HIV. The workers many a time know the safety rules at a workplace but they seldom adopt it further risking their bodies to injuries.28-year-old Sarita Devi from Biraj Kund camp exclaimed, “We are not provided with any safety instrument while working such as helmets and gloves etc. I work along with other co-workers to remove silts, stones etc. We needed gloves and mask for my husband to protect from dust particle. Special thanks to Pragya to address our concerns, especially for helmets, gloves and masks.”

Knowing that there is a persistent lack of knowledge among migrant workers on the importance of health and access to basic health facilities, a role-play exhibited to equip the workers to be able to use the first aid kits provided to them. They were instructed on ways to stop bleeding, using first aid kit to treat minor injuries, and identifying the injuries that need a medical practitioner’s attention. Injuries related to environment and conditions like frostbite and trench foot, arising from cold and high-altitude conditions, were also given attention. This has helped these migrant workers to be self-dependent in case of health emergencies and prevent in escalating minor health problems to serious health issues.

A positive impact of the training has been seen while people adopting health and safety measures on their own where using safety equipment has become a daily habit among migrant workers in their workplace. Workers were found to be arranging equipment on their own as a ripple effect of the habit created through the project on using safety equipment while working and adopting habits of good health and hygiene in day today life.

Women were seen relieved due to the provision of gloves since earlier they were quite bothered with cooking food with their dirty and contaminated hands. Using gloves in their daily work has ensured the cleanliness and hygiene along with protection of hands from dirt, itching and infections. In Sarita Devi’s words who is 30 years old from Long camp, “During our work, we face multiple issues such as dust, mist and mud from cutting rock. Many times our fingers cut while hammering on rocks. Also, our hands get rough by putting in mixing cement and Portland. We always felt the need of First aid kit to be provided. I would thank Pragya for giving us first aid kit, having more of dressing.”

Although migration is universally a basic human right, safe living and working conditions were just a dream for these people. Pragya made an effort where it was needed most, and enabled a safe and healthy work milieu to these workers in a land where no one knows them. 

Agriculture Research at the grassroots: practices to adapt to climate change.

Gyan Kumari is a farmer from the Dako village in Kinnaur, from the state of Himachal Pradesh, which, along with the state of Kashmir, is famous for its apples. Ms Kumari's family has traditionally derived its income from apple orchards and barley crops, but of late, the there have been drastic changes in her livelihood. “Many apple trees have perished. The treatment we applied to protect these trees after consultation with the horticultural department has also failed” she says. 

The dwindling harvests of fruits can be directly attributed to one major factor: rising temperatures due to climate change. Fruit and Nut trees require a minimum period of cold weather – termed a chilling requirement – after which the fruit-bearing tree will blossom. An insufficient number of 'chilling hours' (essential for fruit and nut trees to break dormancy)  due to  rising temperatures around the globe has had an adverse impact the harvests of the horticultural harvests.  In the states of J & K, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayan region in India, rising temperatures could directly affect the livelihoods of farmers from the states who primarily grow ‘stone fruits’ – apples, peaches, and apricots. 

 As part of a program to help farmers adapt to climate change and adopt 'climate-smart' practices, Pragya has helped the local farmers establish Research and Development (R&D) plots to test the viability of cultivating crops like lettuce, broccoli, celery, asparagus, among others, as an alternative or supplementary crop. The R & D plots provide crucial data about conditions that are essential for an ideal harvest, and allows for experimentation with innovative cultivation and irrigation practices. There is also a decentralized system where the farmers are encouraged to take up the cultivation of various crops, and their  plots serve as a demonstration that various crops can be successfully grown in the harsh climate of the high-altitude regions: an invaluable tool to persuade the local farmers to grow the traditional crops from the plains.

Pragya is working with farmers on the R & D plots in five districts in the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India. 

3rd Anniversary of the Uttarakhand floods

17 June marked the third anniversary of the Uttarakhand floods that killed more than 5000 people and left the infrastructure of the state in shambles. The intensity of the floods was such that the state government has not been able to arrive at a number of ‘official’ deaths in the disaster, with many families of the deceased yet to receive a death certificate.

In the aftermath of the disaster, a report by the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has indicated that unregulated construction of dams in the Alaknanda and Mandakini basins, along with adverse weather conditions, could have led to the flooding.  Human intervention is increasingly seen to be the cause of disasters in the Uttarakahand, with recent reports that the fire in April 2016 leading to a large-scale destruction of trees and forest cover could have been man made.

Despite the widespread destruction of infrastructure and huge toll of the floods in the state, there are signs of recovery: people are making their way back to the pilgrimage site of Kedarnath, and the ‘Valley of flowers’, a popular tourist destination, opened to the public for the first time in 3 years. There are untold stories of the strength and resilience of survivors in the face of calamity, everyday individuals building their lives from scratch, after they saw it washed away three years ago.

Pragya has been working to rehabilitate the livelihoods of the people in the areas that are worst affected by the floods, by providing the people with alternate sources of income, in a state whose economy is geared toward revenue from tourism. We are also piloting a grassroots, citizen - led early warning system to be implemented in the districts of the Uttarakhand in the coming year. 3 years on, we remember all the people who lost their lives in this tragedy, and the lessons remain clear: concerted conservation efforts and minimizing human intervention in the environment are a necessity if we are to avoid tragedy on such a scale in the near future.