Mother's recipe for disaster relief

While companies lag in keeping promise of houses for victims of last year's Karnataka floods, NGOs, like those of Mata Amritanandamayi, finish on time

While Mata Amritanandamayi Math, an NGO founded by spiritual guru Mata Amritanandamayi, handed over the keys of 100 houses for victims of last year's floods in the state to the CM within the committed time yesterday, many companies, including Infosys and Biocon, are lagging behind.

53 big corporate houses had come forward to rehabilitate victims of the flood that hit Karnataka's northern part last October. Out of the 73,700 houses needed, Infosys had committed to constructing 3,000 and Biocon had assured of rehabilitating victims from 174 villages. The initial enthusiasm faded gradually and these companies seem to have forgotten the self-laid deadline of two months.u00a0

Interestingly, Rajya Sabha MP Rajiv Chandrashekar, coordinator of the initiative, is clueless about the status. One of his spokespersons told MiD DAY, "We don't have any information. We have asked the CM's office for details."

"We have not forgotten it, but it is a long process. We have to get government clearances before taking certain steps, which is causing the delay," said Mohandas Pai,u00a0u00a0 director-human resources, Infosys.

He had no answer to how Amritanandamayi Ma, or Amma, as she is popularly known, had met the deadline.

Amma had set a deadline of one month on January 15.

"I don't have the complete information, but I know that the process is on," said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman and MD, Biocon, "Let me assure you, we will keep our promise."

The government seems helpless, "We can only request them to work fast and that is exactly what we are doing," said G V Kongawada, housing secretary.