Flash Floods — The CII Response

CII responded to Leh Cloudburst by immediately swinging into action . Confederation of Indian Industry With its prior experience in relief efforts at various places, CII formulated a Since 1895 3-pronged strategy to support Leh in this hour of crisis.

Co-operative arrangements between government & private organisations were made to coordinate delivery of relief supplies.

Immediate Relief... Rehabilitation ... • 4 member CII Team in Leh CII will construct 50 houses in Saboo and 2-3 other villages identified by • 20 tonnes of immediate relief worth Rs 1.2 crore mobilised government. • A 15-member team procured material, packed in distributable packs for immediate use. The houses will be built at sites identified by villagers and will be an improved version of the traditional Ladakhi house. The improvised version has been designed so as to • The relief material including family packs (sugar, tea, snacks, salt & fruit) for immediate consumption, hygiene kits, commu- strengthen the structure to make it earthquake-resistant using locally available material. nity tents, woollen clothing, blankets, kitchen utensils, 200 solar lanterns & battery lamps, water purification systems & A team of local Ladakhi engineers, contractor and Delhi-based architect and structural 10,000 tablets, medicines and hand-tools for clearing debris, engineers are working on the house reconstruction project. Estimated cost of each was distributed across 21 locations house is approx Rs 4.5 lakh each.

• CII was the first to reach 7 inaccessible villages to 2 model houses will be complete by end October , after which the weather will not distribute relief and rehabilitation material, after clearing permit further construction. roads, and crossing the River with a Ropeway trolley. Through the harsh winter, CII will stock material for the remaining houses and • As the next step, rehabilitation had to be provided to those commence construction April onwards, as soon as the weather permits. rendered homeless. Meanwhile, CII has ensured that nobody in Saboo village is homeless through the • As an initial step, 2 community tents , with capabilities to winter. house 30 to 40 people each, have been provided. These are currently being used as schools .

Task force of senior CII members, chaired by Mr Sunil Kant Munjal , Past President, CII & co-chaired by Mr Harpal Singh , Past Chairman, CII Northern Region, constituted to oversee relief & rehabilitation work

Improvisations in the houses … Beneficiaries …

• Walls with compressed earth blocks, stabilised with cement Immediately, houses have been built for • Double-glazed windows for solarisation 1. Rigzin , a 50 yr old single lady with 85 years old mother who is ill and can’t move 2. Shafi Mohhamed , a constable in J&K Police. His wife gave birth to a baby boy • Instead of the wooden roofs , CGI sheets with EPS insulation. 20 days after their house was washed away in the cloudburst • 1 large ladakhi kitchen , 1 smaller room and an air-locking corridor Rest 11 houses in Saboo will be taken up in March and completed within 2 – 3 months CII has bought a fully-automated machine for manufacturing the compressed earth blocks. Process of identifying remaining 30 beneficiaries is on in consultation with the DC’s office. This list will be made available by end October CII@Camp Leh

• A Senior 4 member CII team in Leh soon after the floods • On rotation, 4 member team will be based in Leh on continuous basis • Teams have personally visited affected villages – Saboo, Nimmo, Choglamsar & • Regular visits to several relief camps • On ground assessment & feedback • Working in close coordination with State Government, Administration & Army

Partnerships at work...

Material support for construction Partnerships were expanded as never before and these alliances have helped build capabilities that had not existed earlier. Cement ACC J Hooks, M S Pipes, M Seal Ashoka Distillers & Chemicals It assisted in reconstructing and improving on what the cloud Hydraulic Oil, Paint, Joists Ashoka Distillers & Chemicals burst destroyed. CGI Sheets Essar Steel

The relief and part rehabilitation work has been made possible Insulated false ceiling for 2 houses Frick Earth moving Equipment JCB India through partnerships with and assistance from the J&K State Glass for windows Saint Gobain & Asahi India Government, DC, Leh, Mr Tsering Angchuk, R E Rogers, Indian Air Plywood Samrat Plywood Force, Indian Army, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and members Steel Sariya SPS Group of Companies & who have generously contributed in cash and kind. Ashoka Distillers & Chemicals In doing so, lessons were learned for future humanitarian Truck for road transport Swaraj Mazda assistance. Tipper Tata Motors EPS Sheets for walls of 2 houses Thermo Packers

Livelihood Opportunities

For contributions, contact • Promote cottage industries • Promoting skills in - Aakanksha Kumar Carpet weaving - M: 098109-76866, Email: [email protected] Pashmina weaving/ Yak wool - Food processing/ Horticulture processing Alka Chaudhary - Local handicraft M: 098101-28628 , Email: [email protected] - Hospitality - Solar lantern repairs and maintenance Navdeep Kaur - Mobile repair M: 098159-73674, Email: [email protected] • Improve Agri inputs to improve yield • Techniques/ inputs for better Animal husbandry

Confederation of Indian Industry , Northern Region Headquarters, Sector 31 - A, Chandigarh 160 030 Phone: +91 172 5022522, 2607228 Fax: +91 172 260 6259, 261 4974 E-mail: [email protected]