The 5th trip: in pictures and videos

Visuals are sequenced in chronological order:

1) Journey to Satjelia-Chargheri:

http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765359990764562 A typical sight at Sonakhali: materials being loaded for transportation across / along the river

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrJr_uw_UJ0
Video: This is a mid-river view of the dyke repair work going on near Sonakhali.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlNCPmnXxZo
Video: Kochu (Arum) was also included for distribution on 5th trip. It is a low cost food item, with no side effects envisaged.

http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765400903491234 Snapshot of 'kochu' sacks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lbKDomS7s4
Video: As usual, we took 54 bags of rice, totalling to 2700 kg (to be distributed with 200 kg stock remaining at Chargheri from previous distribution)

http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765479445006578 Young Sharafat's arkwork on his papa's boat

http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765620644867394 Another illustration on the same boat (surely not by Sharafat)....

http://picasaweb.google.com/kaustuvlive/SunderbanAilaReliefWorkPhaseV#5368066036532608194 On the route, we went past villages where some women were busy catching fish & prawns on the riverside

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgNWOVIiNyY
Video: A patch with such dense cover of vegetation in deep water is a rare sight even in the Sunderbans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nPiY1GkAQ4
Video: The team making the 5th visit (putting faces to names)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyFP4cS9y48
Video: We kept dropping time along the way today, and arrived at Chargheri close to 3pm - more than an hour later than last time. Combined with shifting diurnal tide change time, this meant water had already receded significantly by the time we came.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNqU_auz9YE
Video: We explore the tidal entry route, and then go back into the river for an entry from the low tide muddy route. This meant significant time delay in transporting goods to distribution point
[For a contrast, view the video link of tidal entry for 4th trip Chargheri arrival at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8mpRdEENds]

2) The distribution at Chargheri

http://picasaweb.google.com/kaustuvlive/SunderbanAilaReliefWorkPhaseV#5368066315688151474 Arrival at Chargheri: A nice shot courtesy Debajyoti da. You can see the boat in the distance - it stayed there for unloading for another hour and consequently got stuck as water receded further. While returning back after distribution, we reached the boat at 7-15pm and waited on it till 8-30pm (with no ray of light except 2 battery torches) so that the tide returned and boat could float again....The far side of the river is starting point of the wilderness ruled by the Bengal Tiger

http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765762180314594 Avijit feeling his way through the mud on his second visit
[video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDYm9WyWpWk]

http://picasaweb.google.com/kaustuvlive/SunderbanAilaReliefWorkPhaseV#5368066358767559314 Transporting the stuff to the distribution point is a tough affair in low tide. It was unloaded from our larger motor boat into this Purbasha boat. Then this boat had to be physically pushed through the mud to the bank.....

http://picasaweb.google.com/kaustuvlive/SunderbanAilaReliefWorkPhaseV#5368066390712696098
....and only then could the stuff get unloaded for distribution. High tide is preferable any day.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kaustuvlive/SunderbanAilaReliefWorkPhaseV#5368066411330359666 http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765829391073778 Felicitation: It was a little embarassing for us that they insisted in felicitating us under a shed in front of the multitude waiting under the sun for hours to collect their rightful share of bare minimum food. But in any case the materials were taking a long time to be carried from our boat to distribution point due to the low tide, and we thought the schedule of distribution could not get any further delayed by accepting the sentimental requests from the local people (mainly Purbasha) to felicitate us with garlands and sweets. It was a brief affair in any case.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPu-OIYv7Ns
Video: The 2 distribution points at either end of the temporary distrubution shed. As highlighted earlier, 2 points of distribution are necessary for quicker disposal of material to the waiting people

http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765998229130066 Another view of the 2 queues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5wEt_eTDrg
Video: Dipankar arranged for some microphones to communicate essentials of the distribution (2 queues, materials getting distributed, next distribution after 2 weeks etc) to the people in queue

http://picasaweb.google.com/kaustuvlive/SunderbanAilaReliefWorkPhaseV#5368066666369542226 Card based distribution for Lahiripur, Bidhan colony, Santigachi and Porosmoni

http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765958943282498 This is the other point of distribution, where Santanu, Debajyoti da, Angshuman (myself) and Mahender were distributing....[note: I did not remove the garland presented to me at the felicitation by a little kid hardly a couple of years older than my daughter]

http://picasaweb.google.com/kaustuvlive/SunderbanAilaReliefWorkPhaseV#5368066747266766658 Dipankar distributing essential medicines, assisted by Debajyoti da

http://picasaweb.google.com/kaustuvlive/SunderbanAilaReliefWorkPhaseV#5368066530961034162 Ticking off the cards after handing over requisite quota of material

http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765870942328242 Distribution was finally over at dusk

http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765911022372226 http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765930890800322 Our turn to play rice sacks: The Chargheri volunteers load us on a boat and push us through the mud into the river where our boat is stuck on the river bed

http://picasaweb.google.com/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip5PixCellcam#5368765934413460946 Purbasha volunteers and the boatmen ask to get snapped as we board back into our boat for return journey to Gadkhali

Planning for PHASE V

Revised List Ready

We sat with Dipankar today evening. Dipankar came down from Chargheri with the updated list for our distribution. Now the number of families are 721. As we told that quite a number of cards are damaged last week and also some people were found to be missed out, we have decided to issue a new set of card based on these revised list. Surely it’s a headache for us now to print the cards in Bengali and put them in some kind of card holder. But we can solve it.

Cost cutting:

Good news, we have been successful in reducing the cost of our expenditure for hiring the boat (Sonakhali to Chargheri and back). It is now Rs 2300 per trip now. After some discussion, Purbasha, thelocal volunteer group working with us has agreed to share Rs 500 per trip and a boat owner has agreed to reduce the rent to Rs 1800/- per trip. So we save Rs 1000 per trip. Next was rice. We started at Rs 12.50 per kg, but last two week the rice sellers at Basanti did not buzz a paisa from 13.50. No Dipamkar come u with a good idea to procure directly from the people who prduces rice in the mill – not from the wholeseller. This may give a price reduction we are looking for. He will confirm the possibility by next Wednesday. A ray of hope – a savings of Rs 1 a kg will save Rs 1400 per week, almost 100 kg rice. Good bargaining.

Additional Supply

During our third visit as soon as I got down from the boat, a villager very politely asked, " any vegetable this time?" I was too embarrassed to say no, could just manage to mumble "no, we are concentrating on rice only". But we vowed if possible sometimes we will try to give them some vegetable, they almost forgot the taste. Considering cost and local people’s liking, Arum (simple kachu) was selected. It will cost us Rs 900 to provide each family with one Arum. Just the amount we saved from boat. We are really feeling happy. Also there is a need of some 10 pieces of polythene sheet to provide sheds for tuition classes for the students . With almost half empty stomach, people are still thinking about education. Again, it is a mutually beneficial effort for both student and teacher . So we immediately decided to supply this next week. The cost may be something like 2500 Rs. But we will spare it. Dipankar has also brought a list of medicine,

Ground reality

Again we try to assess from Dipankar how people are maanging. We know what we are giving is less than bare minimum. We came to know the help earlier coming in that area from different benevolent organisations has almost stopped. Their only supply line is our weekly assistance and that from Forest department. Yes, the forest department is supplying 1 kg of rice per week per family and 200 gm pulses. The distribution is done from local ADC (? Will try to know about it) office. So government is doing something, but far less than the required. Some people are working on temporary embankment rehabilitation and earning some amount. To buy essentials.

So planning is complete, waiting for the mission next week.