Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) - Caritas India "joins the efforts of the government and other voluntary organizations in bringing solidarity and humanitarian aid to victims of the disasters that hit the people of the states of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh": says a statement issued by the Catholic organization and sent to Fides Agency in the aftermath of the floods that devastated the two states in northern India, causing more than 500 deaths and affecting the lives of over 80 thousand people, many of them still trapped in the mud, waiting to be rescued. Fr. Frederick D'Souza, Executive Director of Caritas, expressing full sympathy with the victims of the disaster, stresses that one of the principles of the organization, expression of the Indian Catholic Church, is to work in partnership with institutions, meeting the real needs of the populations affected by disasters. Caritas ensures the coorporation of the whole network of national offices and network of Caritas Internationalis. Caritas India has sent personnel in the area and is trying to support families affected with clothing, food, medical equipment.
The early arrival of the summer monsoon in India has had tragic consequences in many states, under the slopes of the Himalayas. The heavy rains brought by the monsoon resulted in devastating floods in the Himalayan region of Uttaranchal that, according to the Indian Meteorological Department, has received more than three times its normal amount of rainfall expected for the month of June. On the southern slope of the Himalayas a real avalanche of water was discharged, called "the tsunami of the Himalayas", which poured out to the valley and has swallowed up whole villages and towns. In addition to the flooding, torrential rains have also caused massive landslides. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 24/06/2013)
