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Camp at SiddhaSaur
Uttarakhand Flood Relief 9th July, 2013 It was raining heavily on the night of the 7th of July – the water level of the Mandakin river was rising alarmingly. We were stationed just a few feet from the raging river – even though a flood and cloud burst alert had been sounded. We tried to move towards Guptakashi but due to heavy rain the road had been washed out for a couple of hundred metres , and there was no way our Ambulance and telemedicine unit could cross that stretch. We carried all the medicine boxes on foot to the…
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Moving on to Guptakashi
Uttarakhand Flood Relief 9th July, 2013 The road to Guptakashi was in complete disarray after the rains. The main highway along the Mandakini river has been washed away, and vehicles have to take this only available alternatine route – the rains left the road full of slush – the vehicle was literally swimming in the slush all the way to Guptkashi. Truly a time to chant our mantras. At one place the mountains side broke off and huge boulders came crashing on to the road just as we were approaching it. We decided to try and move the rocks so…
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Camp at Rudraprayag
Uttarakhand Relief Work Camp at Rudraprayag – 6th and 7th July, 2013 The telemedicine unit finally arrived at Rudraprayag – overcoming extremely challenging obstacles all along the way. It was stationed at the Rudraprayag bus stand – and people came from all the neighbouring villages to avail of its facilities. The response was so overwhelming on the first day that we had to extend the camp for another day so that all the patients could be catered to. Around 800 patients were examined, given medicines, and given expert opinions from senior doctors at Amrita Institute of Medica, Sciences through the…
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Base camp at Agastya Muni
Uttarakhand Relief: The Mobile ICU, along with a team of doctors from the Amrita Institute of the Medical Sciences (AIMS), Kochi arrived at our base camp at Agastya Muni. Kedarnath MLA – Mrs Shaila Rani Rawat visited the facilities that we have been providing and was appreciative of the efforts of MAM. Fourteen hundred patients have been given free medicines and consultation in the four days that we have been here. Patients are coming from all the surrounding villages – sometimes walking up to 20 kms to reach here. The mobile telemedicine unit is on the way and is expected…
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The rains are coming
Uttarakhand Relief We finally reached Gupt Kashi, another affected zone, after sliding down mountain screes and clambering up steep mountain paths on all fours, which were made all the more slippery due to yesterday’s rains. Here the problem was more of getting cut off from the rest of the world. Roads had been swallowed up, electric cables downed… but the resilient hill people still carry on. Our medical team is doing wonderful service and the administration is very appreciative of our efforts. People are coming from far off villages to get medical aid. There is forecast of heavy rains…
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Rudraprayag update July 01
Uttarakhand Relief Work Moved up to Rudraprayag from Srinagar. The road to Rudraprayag is full of slush for many kilometers on end – the whole mountainside just slided down into the river carrying everything along with it. It’s the interiors of the mountains that need real help – the places where the spotlights of the news cameras haven’t reached yet.After reaching Rudraprayag, we decided to take a risk and move on to Agastaya Muni – a further 45 km upstream towards Kedarnath. The direct route had been washed out – and only a treacherous alternate village road led up to…
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…and now not able to go further
Uttarakhand Relief Work We decided to walk to nearby villages and see the situation firsthand as we felt we should receive before setting up a camp. We made the mistake of taking the locals literally about how far the next spot was…. Close by meant hours, and a couple of kilometres meant 10 or more on steep mountains. We have been walking all day long and seen scenes of devastation… Long swathes of non-existent roads, houses and hotels that were… but are no longer there. We are in Ghivani village… Stuck between here and there… sitting in the verandah of…
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MAM Relief team reaches Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand Relief Work 29 Jun 2013, Uttarakhand People from many parts of India and the World had been asking….. When are you going to Uttarakhand? Devotees knew that is there was a need Amma would respond. And Amma did respond and at the perfect time. It is only now that the roads have opened up for people to get to some point close to the affected areas. On our way to relief operation In Uttarkashi, roads had been washed away so many parts, villages were inaccessible, though there was not much loss of life or property as compared to…
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An Unexpected Bonus in New Mexico
As Amma approached New Mexico, four major infernos were burning out of control in the state, destroying thousands of acres of precious forest land. In neighbouring Colorado, the worst wildfire in the state’s history was raging through residential neighbourhoods, destroying hundreds of homes. The Southwest is in extreme drought, one of the driest places in the USA. As we drove to the program from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, we could see the billowing smoke from the fire in the Jemez Mountains. Across the wide expanse of the high desert, strong winds whipped up brown dust devils which spun through the…
