Flood Relief for the Weaver Artisans of Maheshwar and their Families

Maheshwar is a quaint little town by the banks of the Narmada in the Nimar region of western Madhya Pradesh. The town has been a center of handloom weaving since before the fifteenth century, and is home to the exquisite silk-and-cotton Maheshwari saris that famously feature intricate zari borders mimicking features of Maheshwar - the waves of the Narmada, the carvings on the walls of its fort, the buds of cotton which is a staple crop of the region, and so on.

Due to the severe rains in western Madhya Pradesh between September 15 and September 17, when the region recorded a total rainfall of close to 200 mm - the most since 1962, Maheshwar was inundated by sudden flash floods over the weekend of September 16. With Narmada already overflowing, water from one of its distributaries locally known as the Maheshwari Nadi, started inundating Maheshwar from about midday of Saturday (Sept. 16), and by 7:00 pm in the evening, water had risen as high as 3 stories in the low-lying areas. Other areas which were at a slight elevation had water levels anywhere between 3 and 6 feet. This is the first flooding in Maheshwar of this magnitude since 1995, so everyone was caught completely unprepared.

The water had receded now, and while there has been no news of deaths, the damage to property has been immense. Most of the houses that had been flooded are laden with sludge, and several hundreds have lost food supplies and essential equipments such as handlooms, utensils, stoves, refridgerators and even motorcycles & scooters.

We at Karghewale (Karuka Foundation) have started this fundraiser to help out the 400 of the most affected families during this time of need with food packets, medical and sanitation kits, and replacement of lost or damaged equipments, because it would take about 3 weeks, if not more, for them to resume weaving.

Karghewale would be providing the following assistance to affected families through this fundraiser.

1. Food packets worth Rs. 1500 to 400 families. Each food packet will contain 2 litres of cooking oil, 5 kg of sugar, 250 gm of tea leaves, 1 kg of toor dal, 1 kg of split masur dal, 1 kg of whole masur dal, 1 kg of moong dal, 5 kg of flour and 5 kg of rice. Total budget = Rs. 1500 X 400 = Rs. 6,00,000.00
2. Medical and sanitation kits worth Rs. 1000 to 400 families, each containing soap, shampoo, sanitary napkins, bathing oil, shaving kit, essential medicines, sanitisers, and antiseptic liquids and bandages. Total budget = Rs. 1000 X 400 = Rs. 4,00,000.00
3. Replacement of lost or damaged equipments, including handlooms, stoves, utensils, air coolers, refridgerators, etc., worth approximately Rs. 10000 (on average) to 100 families. Total budget = Rs. 10000 X 100 = Rs. 10,00,000.00

The target for this disaster relief fundraiser is, thus, Rs. 20,00,000.00 (Rupees Twenty Lakhs).