Project Theme

Disaster Risk Reduction

Target Group

Others

Project Period

01 May 2016 - 31 Mar 2017

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Introduction

Jajpur district is one of the most flodd prone districts of Odisha. The 2008 floods which claimed lives of 110 people had affected 4.45 lakh hec of cropped area. There were 1276 breaches in the canal embankments during that flood. Jajpur was on of the worst hit districts. The most vulnerable regions comprises of 16 GPs of Bari Block and 2 GPs of Binjharpur Block of Jajpur Block. Particularly, region from Brahmani Left embankment from Barabati Bridge to Aul Ring Bundh is most vulnerable. Nearly 1.80 lakh people from Rasulpur to Aul Block are affected by recurrent floods. Each year, the monsoon season brings destruction and irreparable loss to the economy in these areas where communities are mostly engaged in farming and/or fishing. A predominantly agrarian region, floods damage both crops and cultivable land.  High incidence of reduction in daily food intake has been reported with less than a third of the total population having any reserves of food.  Population displacement during floods is widespread as thousands of women, men and children are forced to move to higher ground such as embankments and roads. Communities in this region have always been struggling to cope with cyclones, floods and flood related hazards.  Naturally, the indigenous communities living in these areas have developed coping mechanisms over time that have become ingrained in their lifestyles and traditions – for example, housing, agriculture, livestock rearing, food storage, and weather and flood predictions – and these have helped them cope with, and adapt to, the impacts of such hazards.  But ‘traditional’ mechanisms fall short in the face of the increasing frequency and intensity of floods in these areas today.  Factors such as climate change, environmental  damage,  infrastructure development,  population increase, decreasing agricultural productivity and the overall neglect of government to address these issues – have all contributed to the inability of communities in this region to cope with the floods and emerging disasters that plague the area.

About the Project:

The overall goal of the programme is ‘to develop the resilience of communities in the programme villages located in selected river basins of Odisha against floods and other identified hazards, with a focus on women and marginalized groups.’ The programme seeks to reach following outcomes:

1. Increased community capacities to anticipate and prepare for natural disasters in 10 flood prone villages in Jajpur district in Odisha.  
2. Increased community capacities to improve water, sanitation and hygiene conditions before during and after emergencies – with particular focus on addressing needs of women in 10 flood prone villages in Jajpur District in Odisha. 
3. Improved capacities of the Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and village committees in the programme villages to engage with the Government and other stakeholders to plan and act for reducing vulnerabilities of communities to disasters.

The duration of the project shall be 11 months starting from 1st May 2016 to 31st March 2017. The thematic focus of the project will be on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The Project will be implemented in 10 villages of 3 Gram Panchayats in Bari Block of Jajpur district located  along Bramhani river system which are prone to recurrent floods, cyclones and other hazards. 

Results to be Achieved: 

• 10 Nos. of Project Sites with updated and improved Disaster Management Plans 10 Number of mock drills conducted to test the plan.
• Trained village volunteers in 10 villages with improved capacity of basic risk management and improved access to basic risk management resources for early warning dissemination, search and rescue.
• Community Based Early Warning Dissemination Model developed. 10 Nos. of project locations with EWS Master Plan
• Improved understanding of water quality and contamination status of drinking water sources
• Trained village volunteers with improved capacity of management of drinking water sources before during and after emergencies
• WASH Model developed to improve access to safe drinking water before during and after emergencies

Prior Achievements:

Pallishree’s outreach in Disaster Risk Reduction since 2008 through Oxfam’s support in Jajpur is as follows:-

• 35 villages 
• 6651 Households
• 38471 people
• 38 Schools are covered through school safety programmes 300 trained Task Force Team members
• 31 local paravets are trained in protection of livestock during emergencies. 
• 75 Wash Committee members are trained in Dysinfecting, restoring and maintaining Drinking water sources
• 09 flood proof raised tubewells platforms to ensure access to safe drinking water during emergencies 

Quotes of Beneficiaries:

“Earlier we would approach veterinary departments for vaccination only when cattle would start dying. In floods this was even more difficult. Now we have trained people (Jitendra Raut, Tapan Sahu and Rashmi Ranjan Swain) in our village who not only provide us necessary information but also coordinate with Government Veterinary departments in organising cattle vaccination camps before and after monsoon. We had to pay upto Rs 40 – 50 when we would go in small groups. Now the cost per cattle vaccination is also reduced to Rs 02.” 

-Damyanti Mohanty, Balikhanthia, Jajpur          

Case Studies/Human stories: 

In 2014, Incessant Rainfall since 3rd August caused due to deep depression in lower and upper catchment of major river systems led to flooding in 13 districts in Odisha. As the depression moved upward to Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand it caused flooding in Mahanadi and Baitarni River System. Water level at Hirakud dam and Mundali barrage was at the full reservoir capacity by 5th August. The release of water from upward dams further worsened the floods situation. Fresh rainfall since 8th August and High tide on 11th August further prolonged the inundation in coastal Districts. Major breach in embankments aggravated the flooding in settlement areas.  In these floods, Oxfam did a comparative assessment of the response time of local volunteers and external agencies for water sources chlorination and minor repairs in Jajpur.  The local volunteers responded atleast 15 days before any external agencies could reach these areas.  There were no reported cases of diarrhoea in these communities.