The Catholic Church in the city is planning to set up a disaster management cell with units in every parish to provide help to victims of natural disasters like the July 2005 floods. Archbishop of Bombay Oswald Cardinal Gracias recently announced his intention to create such a cell and has informed the community about his plans through an official circular.
Spokesperson for the archbishop Father Savio Fernandes said, “The church already has a Centre for Social Action to care of social issues like education. But we need a structure to deal with natural disasters.”
In the past, city churches have assisted government agencies in relief operations during natural calamities. During the 2005 floods, several churches had offered food, shelter and donations to affected people.
Father Fernandes said that the church wanted to create a centralised cell that could direct disaster management operations across the city. “We want relief work to be more organised, with a group that will be in charge,” he added. Apart from senior church officials, the group is expected to have disaster management experts as members.
There are more than 100 Catholic parishes in the city, and community groups have said that with its wide network of churches, the community could augment relief work provided by government agencies. “While local parish groups can co-ordinate relief operations at the grassroots level, the archdiocese can oversee the work,” said Joseph Dias of Catholic Secular Forum, a community group.
