Mumbai: A delegation of Classic Marble Company (CMC) visited and conducted relief work in the tribal communities of Odisha’s largest district – Mayurbhanj near Baripada that were affected in the aftermath of cyclone Fani early last month. A group of five members from CMC in collaboration with ‘Living To Change’ and ‘Mayurbhanj Foundation’ organised the rehabilitation program from 
15th to 18th June, 2019 for providing aid to communities of lepers, orphans and differently abled women. As part of the relief work, the team donated clothes, dental and sanitary kits, school bags and stationary; conducted hygiene workshops and provided monetary assistance for rebuilding infrastructure and food. CMC’s objective behind conducting the relief work was to reach out to the interior regions of the State, which continue to reel under the destruction left behind by the extremely severe cyclonic storm.
“Mayurbhanj is a thick forest land that is home to a hundred different tribal communities. While cyclone Fani’s maximum damage is along Odisha’s coastal belt, its interiors too have been affected. In Mayurbhanj the roofs of many houses have completely come off and others are partly broken. The tribal people in the region make meagre earnings and spending it on repairing damages is beyond their means. Additionally, with the oncoming monsoons the need for adequate sanitation facilities becomes all the more necessary to safeguard their health. During the four day programme our focus was to provide as much aid as possible to cover the community’s immediate and basic needs; and to provision for food and sanitation utilities that can cover them for an extended duration of time,” says Manit Shah.
The CMC team that carried out relief operations on-ground included Yash Mehta, Manit Shah, Raahil Mehta, Dhruv Mehta and Latisha Shah. Akshita Bhanjdeo, Director of The Belgadia Palace in Mayurbhanj helped identify the worst affected regions and communities that needed the aid the most. The team visited a colony of lepers, a Government run orphanage and a home for differently abled girls.
“The devastation caused by this calamity and the suffering it has brought to the people is distressing. While we cannot undo the loss, we wish to do our best to help mitigate the prevailing situation to gradually bring it back to normalcy. We are thankful to Mayurbhanj Foundation, Living to Change and to Akshita Bhanjdeo who helped and guided us in our effort to reach out to the affected communities,” concludes Latisha Shah.
