Responding to heavy rainfall in the South of the country, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) provided relief material to flooded areas in Tamil Nadu.
States of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh particularly affected. Around 300 people have died as a result of the flooding while 1.8m have been displaced. Floods have also caused delays and cancellations to air, road and rail services. Three million people have been cut off from basic services while many continue to be trapped in flooded parts of India.
The world’s largest fertiliser co-operative federation, IFFCO includes 40,000 member co-operatives. They offered relief material worth Rs 1 crore (USD $150,000). This helped 5,000 people in the flood affected areas of Cuddalore, Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts. Earlier this year they have also helped people from Kashmir and Uttarakhand affected by floods.
IFFCO distributed Flood Relief kits worth of Rs 1,200, which contain essential staples such as rice, tea powder, milk powder, cooking oil, salt, sugar and fried grams. People have also received bed sheets, plastic mats, candles and matchboxes. In addition to the above, 5,000 tarpaulins will be distributed to flood affected people in the Cuddalore district who have lost their homes. They will use the tarpaulin to construct the temporary roofs.
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said the floods were caused by climate change. At the COP21 meeting in Paris he encouraged world leaders of developed nations to help poorer states bring down CO2 emissions. Chennai is an important industry hub for the country and the economic losses from the floods could exceed £1.5bn.
Photo: IFFCO providing relief material
