By C V Joseph

Bengaluru, August 16, 2019: Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore on August 16 convened an emergency meeting of various organizations of the archdiocese to review the flood situation in Karnataka and plan relief and rehabilitation.

The archdiocese has taken a series of decisions to raise the requisite funds to help the affected people, said a statement.

Major decisions include dispatching teams of doctors, nurses and para-medics from St. John’s Medical College Hospital, St. Martha’s Hospital, St. Philomena’s Hospital and Hosmat Hospital (private) with adequate medicines. It has also been decided to keep specially marked dumb boxes in churches and institutions throughout until mid-September across the archdiocese.

Various NGOs of the archdiocese have been drawn to assist the teams to help alleviate the sufferings of thousands of displaced families.

The recent monsoon rains for the second consecutive year in the northern and southern parts of the state have left a trail of sufferings for the people there. Unprecedented rains, triggered by cloud bursts, floods and landslides that have ravaged the state and immobilized hundreds of thousands people and thousands of families.

The nature’s fury has not only swept thousands of homes but shattered the dreams of lakhs of people who are yet to come to terms, the statement added.

The statement has provided the bank details for those willing to donate to the flood relief. (Name of Account – BMSSS Disaster Relief Fund / Account No. 0429101042584 / Name of Bank – Canara Bank / Branch – Benson Town and IFSE – CNRB0000429.)