India, Aug. 13 -- Actor Bhumi Satish Pednekkar, who was in flood-hit Assam from August 6 to 9, says witnessing the devastation first-hand was very different from seeing it online. She joined the Bharat Disaster Relief Foundation (BDRF) in relief work across affected areas, where over 1.12 lakh people have been impacted.

"The volunteers had already been on the ground for almost 14 days by the time I reached, doing incredible work," Bhumi tells us, adding that she wanted to go "responsibly" and "contribute meaningfully" without adding to the burden of the local administration. She recalls, "I've actually grown up in an environment where I've seen my family do a lot of relief work. From a very young age, we were taught to give back. I have ...