My Experience in Super Cyclone 1999,Orissa 

It was my feelings when I was helping administration of Orissa Government from Bhubaneshwar  Airport and  after that from Erasama Block of Jagatsingpur District in odd conditions.

In my life, I have heard several times people hailing "God is Mercy", but not a once did people say "God is Fury", was that god's fury of disaster panelize Orissa with its worst ever disaster? I don�t know. I wish it was a horrifying dream when I woke-up from my bed the day after reaching Hyderabad after coming from 'relief operation from Orissa�, which lasted over 25 horrifying days.  But it was not a dream, a real picture of Orissa after Super-Cyclone, which had destroyed more than 90% of trees and killed more than 20,000 people and countless animals.

Was that population control or punishment of nature for disturbing the nature by humans? If that was a punishment to people of Orissa then it was so horrible than a horror show, especially in Jagatsinghpur district in Orissa.

But human again show their selfishness, when I hear of looting or robbing those few food grains which could help sustain a life of most deserving, which came to help survive one of their own fellow men. Everything was costly except the cost of human life, which was dirt-cheap

Was the administration inactive in first few days after super-cyclone, when people were crying on account of hunger and sleeping in topless shelters in the winter months of October and November or waiting for foreign aid to assist in this calamity or searching a new idea to borrow a loan from outside? Probably not, as I understand from the situation, it was handicapped by lack of volunteers to help in relief operation. Though number of volunteers came there to serve the fellow humans and nation in time or crisis and had to live in horrendous condition like little or no food, water electricity, or communication system and terrible living conditions, contaminated water and dead bodies floating everywhere, destroyed houses and lot of smell of decomposed bodies, which was heartily welcoming everyone in the part of Orissa. The number was not sufficient to cope with the scalar of disaster that occurred.

Some the first persons to reach the effected sites were the ham radio operator, who reached there first for reporting live the conditions of the badly broken area which resembles like a scene from hell. Hams reached there first to serve the nation and fellow humans by providing the second line of communication network, unlike media to collect news and cash it for the world but to help the administration and government by giving a communication network through H.F. and VHF communication systems under extremely strenuous conditions round the clock.  It is bad luck to India that its top senior level officers don�t know about one of the oldest ham radio communication system and like the latest telephone, cellular phone, iridium phone, internet etc. and hoped for foreign aid to help them but time and again the story repeats itself that except ham radio anything else is secondary in case of emergency.       

I remember the day of Diwali - the festival of lights and crackers celebrated with pomp and show all over India- in the evening, when I was sitting in the disaster relief vehicle (Ambulance) at Erasama block of Jagatsingpur District outside the few home-guards patrolling the burning bodies everywhere. The Erasama village was in the bright light due to burning bodies in the evening time and cracking sound of bones was coming regularly to my ears in the complete mourning environment, was the Diwali of Erasama Block? I am sure none in India, who shared their concern for their fellow brethren could celebrate Diwali. Then what was that in Erasama? No doubt it was the last rites of dead bodies burnt by the home-guards and volunteers, then the question again striked in my mind that which kind of relation was present there? I don�t know. Probably above religions, human relation was present there. And on the other side ham radio operators, were not a aim to kill the enemy at any cost, but they were working like on war footing without bomb or bullets but with wireless equipment by continuously passing the messages "send me immediately doctors in this area��", send me bleaching powder......", send me ......" and passing the reply to the concerned officer present there round the clock and also reporting the number of bodies disposed etc. ...

It is a big shame for us that we are going toward the new millennium year 2000 with a population target at 100 crores but in case of calamity working like a handicapped. Out of 90 crores people, very few organisations showed their presence understanding the scale of disaster like AMURT, SACHA SATHI, UNICEF, OXFAM, CARE, AWARE, RSS, NYK, DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY, Doctors Sans Borders, BIRD etc. with Doctors and Donors/ Charity trust as well as we the ham volunteers from NIAR.

     I heartily thank & respect the courage of hams who worked there round the clock and those people who provided free kitchen and food to orphans, children, widows, poor people, old-men etc. and also who had done the last rites and helped by preparing homes for the homeless by donations, repairing roads etc.

     I am proud of such volunteers in our countries, which served the nation in the hours of need and only require encouragement and help by the government, instead of begging help from outsiders.

Also see my  photo gallery !