More than 10 startups come together to form 'Rebuild Uttarakhand'

In a bid to provide a well-coordinated relief aid operation in the disaster-stricken areas of Uttarakhand, startups from Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai have come together in an initiative called 'Rebuild Uttarakhand.

Rebuild Uttarakhand is an initiative started by a group of individuals to help the victims of the massive flood that hit the area in June this year. As many as 10 startups from across the sectors have joined hands so far to leverage their own individual expertise to help the victims and make the area habitable again.

Here is a look at what these startups are doing.

Airpix and Social Drones: These startups are providing drones for conducting aerial photography practices in the disaster-hit areas. They are conducting surveillance and navigation in the areas and trying to develop intelligence to avoid the risk on stepping in fragile regions. The intelligence and information collected will be then given to the volunteers so that they can take suitable action. These drones will also document the entire operation and make it public.

Aeolis: It is a weather forecasting venture from Netherlands and is providing real-time satellite support. It has designated a developers' team working on real-time data. This data and forecasting will help in making recommendations on volunteer's transportation plans.

Weekend Ventures: A network of entrepreneurs, Weekend Ventures has recently conducted hackathons across Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. These were supported by Kelsaa91 springboards and Jaaga. As many as six applications were developed by the hackers; one of them is a telecom version of Google Person Finder which will be helpful in locating missing people.

Deliver with me: A crowdsourcing startup, it is helping by sourcing essentials from individuals across India and then delivering it effectively to Uttarkashi areas. The startup also provided technical support during the above mentioned hackathon.

The 48 Hour Film Project: A media start-up, it is providing media content, animation for spreading awareness about what happened in Uttarakhand and why the people in the area still need our attention and support.

Anhad Sewa Trust: A rural development, 80G certified NGO is providing fundraising support.

Instamojo: Mumbai and US-based startup is offering its network and payment gateway to make fundraising easier and accessible via social media across countries.

The team at Rebuild Uttarakhand has initially launched a campaign to raise Rs 15 lakh for procuring ration, medical help and constant aerial support. "We are not just raising funds to help people; the government will have more funds than us, all the time. Hence we are using the power of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding to create a startup movement to facilitate efforts in Uttarakhand areas," said Rajesh Mane, campaign lead, Rebuild Uttarakhand. Mane is also the co-founder of Weekend Ventures, one of the startups actively involved in the initiative.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)