Prefab houses model for disaster-hit areas: DC

For two brothers from Muzaffarpura village in Amritsar, the recent floods had washed away not just their homes but also their sense of security. Today, that despair has turned into hope as they step into brand-new houses built for them under the “Mud Vaseba Punjab Da” campaign of the Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, which has joined hands with the district administration for providing pre-fabricated houses to flood victims.

Sandeep Singh, a Granthi Singh, and his brother Sukhdev Singh, a labourer, had been left homeless in the recent devastating floods. Within just four days, the Trust erected two modern prefabricated houses of 1,000 square feet and 850 square feet area for their family, respectively. Apart from homes, the Trust also provided essential ration supplies and household goods.

Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney, along with members of Kalgidhar Trust, inaugurated the houses on Thursday. The DC appreciated the initiative adding that such innovative prefabricated structures could be a model for disaster-hit regions.

Jagjit Singh aka Kaka Veer ji, vice-president of the Trust, shared that nearly 100 such houses, between 400 and 900 square feet in size, are planned for flood-affected families across Punjab. He said work has already begun on another house in Gurdaspur district.

“It would take around a decade for the people, especially those from economically weaker sections, to recover from the loss caused by the floods while construction of their house remains a distant dream,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Akal Sewa teams of the Trust continue to run flood relief camps across Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Fazilka and Ferozepur. From Akal Academy centres in Tibber, Dinanagar, Sujanpur, Vachhoa, Dadehar Sahib, Theh Kalandar, and Dera Baba Nanak, volunteers are reaching villages to repair household items, unblock bathrooms, distribute medicines, and even carry out fogging drives to prevent diseases.

So far, 5,500 people from 153 villages have been rescued and relocated to safer places.