B’luru youths trek to Kodagu to deliver relief material

A group of Bengaluru-based young professionals trekked through the flood-ravaged Kodagu to reach a remote village near Madikeri in order to deliver relief material.

Bhavan Bopanna, an IT professional, along with his friends, set out to help the people of Kodagu.

They learnt that Kaloor, a remote village, had become inaccessible.

They walked 6 km to reach the village.

“When we drove our jeep through the roads, it was heartening to see an old couple carrying some relief materials on their head. Later when we reached the village, we found that over 45 families had not received any relief material for over a week,” he added.

As they could not reach the village in their jeep, they trekked for almost 6 km carrying the relief material.

According to Bopanna, most of the families were middle class and had a small property for themselves and they do not wish to stay at relief camps.

“These villagers only wanted to some rice, dal and oil so that they could cook for themselves. But the procedure to get relief is cumbersome.

A few villagers who managed to visit a few relief camps were made to run around and were not given their due by the authorities,” added Bopanna.

He said people from the village that he visited wanted food for their cattle and dogs. But somewhere, the government has not able to understand people’s requirement.

The group not only delivered the relief material, but also picked up trash on the way to ensure that no plastic was left behind.

Now, a Whatsapp group ‘Kodagu for Tomorrow’ with around 45 members are pitching in to help the people recover and rehabilitate.

Following the footsteps of some natives of Kerala in Bengaluru, youngsters are being mobilised in Kodagu also well.

Bhavan wants youngsters to come forward to pick the waste and process them.