Dalit Watch in Bihar Flood relief - NCDHR

[Tanveer Kazi]

National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights and Dalit Samanway, Bihar

 6652 villages in 1288 Panchayats of 19 districts of Bihar were severely affected by floods. As per the estimates done by department of disaster management of Govt. of Bihar about 140.54 lakh persons were affected. About 125459 houses damaged estimated Rs. 9609.61 lakhs and crop in 11.18 lakh hectares damaged estimated value Rs. 26307.13.

 

 

 

The extensive flood situation in Bihar currently has thrown life into chaos. The need to respond to the massive flooding resulting in deaths, damaging of houses, death of animals, destruction of crop and property has lead to widespread loss and human suffering. The situation demands large scale humanitarian aid to tide over the immediate present and demands medium and long term measures to bring life back to normalcy. The state has taken up the challenging task by putting its machinery into action to take up relief measures and coordinate with non-state actors too.

 

Dalit Experience In Disaster

Recognising the large scale loss, destruction and hardships people are put to and the efforts being taken by the state and other agencies, this report throws special light on the situation of Dalit communities in the affected areas. We take this effort from past experiences where relief and rehabilitation measures have failed to reach Dalit communities adequately owing to 'discrimination by default' ^[1] as well as active caste based exclusion and discrimination that is prevalent in our social structure and everyday dynamics of both civil society as well as administration. These issues were brought to light in Tsunami and in hindsight are evident in all previous disasters and relief-rehabilitation process.

 

The process of loss and damage assessment in times of disaster often overlooks and undervalues the loss among Dalit communities. Officials generally tend to gain their information from dominant caste and influential people in the village who overlook the loss and concerns of Dalits. The separate and isolated habitations of Dalits are added barriers to gain information. Officers are not found to visit Dalit tolas specifically to look at their issues and hence almost always their loss is not registered in full. Media and other sources of information too tend to collect their stories from the more influential and articulate sections of the community.

 

It is also found that dominant sections during relief and rehabilitation are anxious to corner all available benefits and hence do not allow the loss of other habitations in their neighbourhood, in particular those of Dalits, Tribals or minority religious groups from being registered.

 

Owing to traditional barriers of equal participation in public spaces, it also happens that Dalit communities may not be available in the main shelters and public places. They would tend to stay on the outskirts or the margins of the public spaces furthering their invisibility.

 

These social dynamics are manifested in failure to identifying Dalit communities affected, registering death and loss, not taking cognizance of their situation of hunger, not registering barriers and prohibitions in accessing relief and others. The non-recognition and non/under registration of the loss and destruction suffered my Dalit communities in disaster results in scanty relief measures to them and limited provisioning in rehabilitation. This has serious implications in their ability to get back to normalcy.

 

Special and heightened vulnerabilities of Dalit communities

1. Dalit communities in general live outside the main village, in low lying and isolated tolas. Even ordinary rains lead to flooding in their areas. The habitations of Dalit communities are in that sense particularly vulnerable in flood situations.
2. Their houses are of poorer quality made of mud with low floors and ceiling and are easily destroyed by rains and floods. The economic situation also does not allow them to maintain the ceiling that leakage in rainy season is most common. The situation of floods thus results in total destruction of their homes, household utensils, other valuables and washing away of any property.
3. The lack of protective safes also leads to damage and destruction of documents like ration cards, school certificates, books and other valuables.
4. Being landless and casual workers, flood situations lead to total unemployment of Dalit communities. They also do not have financial resources to fall back upon and their vulnerability to food, special needs for infants, children, pregnant and lactating mothers as well as the old are particularly compromised at such situations. Hence hunger and starvation is common leading to health problems and even casualty to life.
5. By and large relief and rehabilitation tends to compensate assets and Dalit communities primarily being asset-less are left out of adequate compensation for the loss of their livelihoods that are affected by the floods.  An alternate way to assess the loss of livelihood needs to be put in place and mechanisms to help them build their life back.
6. The traditional caste barriers also sets them aside or make the last to access relief measures like food packets, dry grains, clothes, medicines or space in the relief shelters and camps. These accesses are often actively prohibited and closed off too.
7. The low value accorded to Dalit girl children and women increases their vulnerability further. Disaster situations make them easy targets of harassment, violence and sexual violence.
8. It is also seen that in keeping with the practice of caste based occupation and obligatory duties of caste placed on Dalits, there is compulsion on them to take up tasks of clearing dead bodies, dead animals and debris.

 

Observations of Immediate Rapid Survey

11 members of various Dalit organisations visited 51 villages in 4 districts on 8-9 August. The observations are listed below:

 

1.              Water logging is severe in Dalit habitations and water has not fully drained and people were crossing the roads in 6fts water even after 15 days.

2.              369 people deaths are reported in these villages and 223 of them (60%) are Dalits.

3.              308 people were reported missing and among them 166 belongs Dalit community.

4.              Village Basahi in Chariya Bariyarpur block in sub-division of Bakhari, of Begusarai, is reported to be totally washed away. People fear that about 1000 inhabitants were washed away and among them many are Dalits. Among this is an incident where a 3-storey building collapsed and all the people who were taking shelter were killed.

5.              Many people died because of snake bites and as no immediate medical relief measures were available for them. Team did not find any medial camps in all the villages visited.

6.              No government official visited Dalit tolas and so far there is no relief provided to them.

7.              Rescues operations were limited to road side villages.

8.              The assessment done by the government was not reflecting the ground situation and n loss of life and missing people are not fully registered. 

9.              Dalits have in comparison lost precious stock of grains, utensils and other consumables that are their mainstay for the season and hence are more vulnerable to hunger and starvation in the coming months.

10.          Extent of Dalit houses damaged was much higher when compared to other communities because most of Dalit colonies were situated in low lying areas and poor quality of housing. 

11.          Currently in many villages they are staying in self made shelters on the highway. They have not received the polythene sheets are available to them and have not been provided to them by the government. In one village local industries built temporary shelters where 200 families are sheltered.

12.          Dalits had taken shelter in dominant castes' houses and in temporary shelters. Some women were reported that they were sexual harassment and assault in places of shelter.

13.          People are suffering even for drinking water. Government has not made efforts to provide drinking water.

14.          In some villages people reported repeated damage and flooding every year and their repeated requests for Pucca houses to authorities was in vain.

15.          Relief was not reaching Dalits and items were diverted to dominant caste localities irrespective of extent of damage. In some villages these were sold to Dalits.

16.          In some villages Dalits are selling their belongings to get the food.

 

NCDHR's planned interveniton:

1. Assess the nature and extent of damage, loss of life, livelihood etc in 3000 affected villages.
2. Monitor relief and rehabilitation measures and bring the gaps to concern officials and ensure equity and inclusiveness in the operations.
3. Set up Dalit Watch Centres both in the districts as well as at the State level to facilitaite petiotions/grievances/complaints and also to share information with the other NGOs who are involved in the relief and rehab work.

 

NCDHR, NCDHR Bihar state, and Dalit Samanway  will be to undertake the following follow up measures to ensure equitable and inclusive humanitarian aid to the victims of flood affected areas in the following districts. Dalit Samanway is a collective of 20 activist groups and organizations who have volunteer base and have a track record of forging for dalit rights in Bihar. Format for survey and rapid assessment was finalised and given for printing.

 

Tasks Ahead:

4. The rapid survey will be done in the following 9 districts as they are the most affected districts.
5. 50% of the villages are taken up for the Rapid Survey.
6. There will be about 290 volunteers – students, activists and employees will be mobilized by the Dalit Samanway and NCDHR – Bihar for the survey. They will be mostly from the respective districts as well as from the other districts.
7. Other human rights groups, Dalit Adivasi groups will be approached for associating in the pre and post survey period to ensure strong follow up.
8. There will be a team from the national secretariat Delhi who will monitor the process of survey and collation of data.
9. On 11 evening and 12 morning August there will be an orientation for 50 cluster leaders of the enumerators. They in turn will mobilize about 6 each enumerators to conduct the survey.
10. The present enumerators are also potential activists for resourcing the district and the state Dalit Watch cells in all these districts as well as the State level.

 

 

Details of 51 villages

S.No.	Villages	No. of HH		Deaths		Missing		Ext. of Consumables, utensils etc lost (in %)		Ext. of damage of houses (in %)
		Dalit	Non-Dalit	Dalit	Non-Dalit	Dalit	Non-Dalit	Dalit	Non- Dalit	Dalit	Non-Dalit
Saharsa District, block Saluacuva
	Kuvaiya	70	95	0	0	0	0	50	40	95	10
	Gaurdahpuranawas	120	100	0	0	0	0	60	20	95	5
	Musarnia	150	20	3	0	2	0	70	25	100	2
	Bhelwani	130	100	0	2	0	1	90	10	100	5
	Gurdah	145	190	0	0	0	0	75	20	100	3
	Mangalsadathola	160	75	1	0	1	0	50	25	100	5
	Kojrah	45	180	0	1	0	1	25	20	100	10
	Cheka Musahari	220	10	3	0	1	0	40	35	100	20
	Hareval	100	35	0	0	0	0	50	40	80	10
	Thirasi	157	168	0	0	2	0	70	30	90	5
	Checkla	171	132	0	0	0	0	75	25	85	8
	Chalkuwa Ravidasthola	180	0	2	0	0	0	30	70	100	3
	Katmara	150	200	0	0	0	0	20	10	100	5
	Karhoriah	170	160	0	0

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Tanveer Kazi
National Secretary(Advocacy)
National Campaign On Dalit Human Rights
8/1,2nd Floor, South Patel Nagar
NEW DELHI-110008 ( INDIA)

Ph/ Fax:- 91-11-25842249/ 25842250

Mobile:- 09350183804  09818933034
Email:- tan...@ncdhr.org    
           tan...@gmail.com

Website:- www.dalits.org