Chennai, which was hit by the rains of the century and is worse off for it, is getting much-needed assistance and one of them is Hyundai Motor India, which set up operations there nearly 20 years ago.

HMIF, the CSR arm of Hyundai Motor India, swung into action immediately to help the flood affected.  HMIF handed over 5,000 food packets on December 4 and and 6,000 food packets on December 5 to the flood-relief teams set-up by the Tamil Nadu Government. These food packets have been airdropped to help the needy in the flooded areas in and around the Chennai city by Air Force Personnel operating from Tambaram Air Base.

On December 6, Young Key Koo, the recently appointed managing director, HMIL and Vinayagam G, president, United Union of Hyundai Employees (UUHE), along with HMIF team members and HMIL volunteers visited Vengadu and Nemily villages in Sriperumbudur and distributed essential items like clothing for an entire family, blankets, towels and 20-litre water cans to 200 families. Similar items will be distributed in the villages of Perinjampakkam, Ottankaranai and Thathanur followed by distribution of utensils and provisions to sustain the families for 10 days. The relief measures will benefit 1,000 families in these most affected villages and is expected to be completed by December 14.  Paucity of essential materials is hampering relief work.

Once the rains and the water recedes, HMIF will conduct a complete sanitisation campaign for these same villages. Cleaning the entire village with tractors, mosquito fogging, spraying bleaching powder and cleaning water bodies are some of the activities on the anvil, to help the villages return to normalcy.

Commenting on the relief measures, HMIL’s managing director YK Koosaid: “It is really sad to witness this intensity of the disaster. This state gave us our home and this is just a small gesture from our side to the people of Tamil Nadu.  I salute the people of Tamil Nadu for their resilience in fighting this calamity”

In end-November, HMIF distributed around 1,000 mats, 1,000 bed-sheets, 500 tarpaulins, 2,500 biscuit packets, 1,000 bread packets and 500 water tubs [20 litres] to 5 villages of Ettikuthimedu, Akkamapuram, Vellarai, KK Nagar, Kaduvancery of the Sriperumbudur block. These were among the worst affected areas in the region. HMIL volunteers with representatives from HMIF, UUHE (United Union of Hyundai Employees) handed over these items to 500 flood-affected families in the presence of the local government officials and respective panchayat presidents.