The flood in Bihar has reached horrendous proportions. Anybody who is following the story is getting more and more appalled by the enormity of the destruction and the conditions of the hundreds of thousands who have been rendered homeless and are fighting for survival. It initially started as one more story of the usual floods that happen in India every year but very rapidly we realised that this is different. An entire river, charting a totally new course due to the deluge of water following heavy rains in its catchment area, it has caught the entire state or rather the entire country napping.

For my readers from abroad, a comprehensive coverage of the calamity can be found by referring this link.

This was the time to stand up, do something and be counted. Gone were the times of making patronizing statements, say the obligatory words of solace and then go on with your usual life. This was the time to walk the talk.

Some of us had stayed back in campus during the term break and they actually set the ball rolling. We brainstormed, we networked and by the time the batch had come back & Term 4 had started a concrete plan was ready. We wanted immediate action. That sort of ruled out making contributions to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund or any such other fund. While noble, these funds did not let us see any tangible benefits. It was like a case of fill it & forget it. We wanted more than that.

Some of us got in touch with a NGO working in the field in Bihar. Accredited by UNICEF & CARE, this was a reputed NGO & we could be sure that stuff we direct to them would reach the intended population. The next thing was to decide on what to send. Money, probably was the easiest thing. But these people on the brink of life & death don't need money now. They need food, they need safe drinking water, they need clothes and medicines. So what we decided was to raise the money in the campus and then buy the essential stuff. Already orders have been placed for an initial batch of medicines and we are also doing a cloth collection drive at the campus. We have also contacted the Indian Railways to book space for all the stuff we are going to ship out. This should reach the NGO in Patna who will in turn direct it to the forward areas.

We had our first collection drive yesterday. It was really really heartening to see the spontaneous response from the batch. We have not yet lost touch with reality. Even more heartening is the response people have shown to volunteer for other small activities all of which are essential to making this entire thing a success.

This is but a small start, a small drop in the ocean. This cannot be solved by 450 students sitting in a B-school. This requires monetary contribution and physical efforts which is beyond the current batch. This requires huge amounts of money & relief material. This also requires massive work on the ground to ensure that all that is collected & donated reach the needy & do not get "lost in transit".

At ISB, we are trying to tap all avenues and all the contacts that we have to get funding. Our solemn promise is that this is going to be run professionally and there would be total transparency & accountability for each & every rupee collected. If any of you out there would love to help/contribute/do anything in this regard you can drop me a mail at Sumantra_dasgupta@pgp2009.isb.edu or to Rajarshi Ray at Rajarshi_ray@pgp2009.isb.edu. Any kind of help would be appreciated.

All the best.