Recent floods and natural disasters in Himachal Pradesh have unleashed massive devastation. Many families have lost their homes, and thousands have been forced to migrate. While governments are engaged in relief operations, once again, in this hour of crisis, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Seva Bharati volunteers have risen with selfless spirit and are wholeheartedly serving the affected people.
Since the very first night of the disaster, swayamsevaks of the Sangh have been continuously involved in relief work, serving day and night in flood-hit and landslide-affected areas. Notably, many people have lost their farmlands, homes, and lifelong savings.
RSS swayamsevaks and Seva Bharati volunteers are actively providing relief material, transporting stranded people and tourists to safer places, and arranging meals for them. RSS and Seva Bharati have set up community kitchens and medical services at multiple locations.
475 volunteers of RSS and Seva Bharati are engaged in relief work across the state, and 68 service centers are currently being operated by Seva Bharati.
Relief and rescue operations in Mandi
In Mandi, Seva Bharati volunteers have provided food, rations, and other essential items to displaced families who had taken shelter at Bara. A relief base camp has also been established at Thunag (Seraj, Mandi). Volunteers are providing rations, medicines, bedding, and other essentials to the affected villages.
In Thalout’s Fagu village (Mandi), five families severely affected by landslides received essential materials. Seva Bharati Himachal Pradesh and swayamsevaks distributed rations, utensils, bedding, clothes, blankets, tarpaulins, and buckets. Among them, three families whose houses were completely destroyed were provided with additional support, while the other two families were also given immediate essential materials.
Seva Bharati volunteers of Karsog served displaced people at Chatri, providing utensils, bedding, food, and other necessities. Similarly, in 13 panchayats of Thunag and surrounding areas, more than 600 families have received rations and essential relief material.
In Gadhyani village of Bakarta (Sarkaghat sub-division, Mandi district), a family whose mud house was completely destroyed received assistance from Seva Bharati. Relief materials including rations and basic supplies were handed over to them.
350 families received medicines in Kangra
In Kangra’s Nurpur, swayamsevaks and Seva Bharati volunteers not only rescued families and moved them to safer locations but also provided food, medicines, and other necessities. In the Mand area of Nurpur, many families were safely evacuated to relief camps.
Relief efforts are not confined to Nurpur alone, Seva Bharati and RSS swayamsevaks are continuously serving in Mandi, Chamba, Kullu, Rampur, Shimla, and Lahaul. In the Indora region of Kangra, medicines were distributed to 350 families and health check-ups were conducted on the spot.
Relief materials sent to Una
RSS swayamsevaks collected food, clothes, blankets, medicines, and other essentials from different areas, packed them systematically, and sent them through Seva Bharati volunteers to Una. This material is being delivered to families facing difficulties due to the floods and landslides. Relief and rescue operations are also underway in Kullu and Bilaspur districts.
In Tapri (district Kinnaur), landslides blocked all roads, leaving more than 250 people stranded. There, Seva Bharati volunteers have established a community kitchen. The bhandara continues to function round the clock, sustaining those trapped in the disaster zone.
At a time when floods and cloudbursts washed away homes, fields, and livelihoods in Himachal Pradesh, the swayamsevaks of the Sangh and the volunteers of Seva Bharati stood firmly with the victims of the floods. From rescuing families to feeding the stranded, from distributing medicines to running relief camps, their dedication reflects the true spirit of seva.
