E-Paper
1,000 SPPU students to spend week aiding flood-hit villages
At least 250 of the 1,000 students are from streams where Psychology is a major. The team will be accompanied by trained counsellors and relief aid workers who will guide the students to ensure their outreach remains effective.
One thousand students from the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) will relocate to the flood-hit districts of Sangli and Kolhapur for seven days, to offer “moral support” and “counselling for disaster stress” to the affected people.
At least 250 of the 1,000 students are from streams where Psychology is a major. The team will be accompanied by trained counsellors and relief aid workers who will guide the students to ensure their outreach remains effective.
“Sangli and Kolhapur districts are badly affected by the floods, in which thousands of houses were damaged, people lost their lives and there are severe losses in terms of farming and household items. So to give mental support and counselling, we have planned this week-long programme. Students will go to both these districts from August 22 to August 28 and stay in different villages to interact with flood victims,” said SPPU vice-chancellor Nitin Karmalkar.
“Sudents will interact with these people to understand their demands and issues and help them get back to their normal lives. The information gathered will be conveyed to government authorities,” Karmalkar said.
Terwad, Rajapur, Rajapurwadi, Takali and Aakiwat villages in Shirol taluka of Kolhapur district; and in Sangli district, Walva, Borgaon, Shirgaon, Bhilawadi and Audumbar villages are where the students will be stationed.
“After going to these villages, our students will try to understand the ground reality and issues which these people are facing to reconstruct their lives. Students will participate in cleaning of villages as well,” added Karmalkar.
