Appeal for aid as Calcutta gripped by flood disaster

MAUREEN FOREST doesn’t do despair, but if she did she would probably be forgiven for buckling under the strain of trying to put food in hungry mouths on the mean streets of Calcutta.

India's largest city is caught in the grip of the worst floods in memory and many of the city's residents face hunger, disease and death. It is giving aid agencies, like the Hope Foundation which Maureen directs, all they can do to cope.

"The rains have been non-stop for three days now. Hundreds of thousands of people have been made homeless," said Maureen, speaking from the beleaguered city yesterday.