TSUNAMI REHABILITATION
/
RECONSTRUCTION
'Village'devoted
to elders opened
A
Rs. 3-crore model village for accommodating 100 elders rendered
destitute by the 2004 tsunami has come up at Thamaraikulam in
Periyakanganakuppam, three km from Cuddalore. HelpAge India and NDTV
have executed the project by contributing Rs. 1.75 crore and Rs 1.25
crore respectively. NDTV has mobilised a substantial portion of the
fund from its viewers.
by
A.V. Ragunathan. The Hindu. 18/12/2007
.
Half-baked
relief
Three
years after the monster tsunami hit parts of coastal India, one would
have expected homes for the homeless to have been constructed by now,
especially with funds flowing from all over the world. But a UN
report on its own efforts says only half the number of homes that
were to be built have been completed so far.
by
Sreelatha Menon. The Business Standard. 09/12/2007
.
A
"second tsunami" hits Sri Lankan fishermen
A
“second tsunami” has hit small fishermen in Sri Lanka, one of the
country’s most marginalised social groups. Since 26 December 2004
when the tsunami struck the coastline of the country, another
tsunami-like tragedy has hit them; it involves official indifference,
red tape, multinational fishing interests and the tourist industry.
Three years after the disaster thousands of people are in fact still
living in ramshackle conditions, whilst the government is building
highways and hotels and planning commercial fishing harbours.
by
Melani Manel Perera. Asia News. 12/12/2007
.
Report
gives poor marks for tsunami rehabilitation
Three
years on from the tsunami, the story of relief and rehabilitation in
Tamil Nadu is one of widespread exclusion, poor quality construction,
lack of consultation with communities, insensitivity to women, and
lack of urgency on the part of the State, according to a report by
Vilimbunilai Makkal Kural (Voices from the Margins), a forum set up
in the wake of the disaster.
The
Hindu. 21/12/2007
.
Panel
charges state with failure to rehabilitate tsunami victims
The
present condition of tsunami survivors is in violation of Article 21,
the panel of a people’s tribunal on tsunami rehabilitation has
observed. Too much attention was given to developing the coast for
tourism rather than aiding the affected fisherfolk, it said.
Three
years after the tsunami, the real disaster is not the devastation the
force of nature wrought but the State’s failure to take steps to
rehabilitate people, the panel has observed. The panel, which
included former judge of the Mumbai High Court H Suresh, social
activist Asghar Ali Engineer, historian K.N. Panikkar and former
vice-chancellor of Mother Teresa Women’s University Yasodha
Shanmugasundaram, heard the testimony of over 40 affected people and
received over 120 representations from Nagapattinam, Kanyakumari and
Cuddalore, and the Karaikal region of the Union Territory of
Puducherry.
by
Sarah Hiddleston. The Hindu. 23/12/2007
.
The
Tsunami and the aftermath - A village revisited
Three
years after the tsunami struck, a look at the way relief measures
have shaped up in Pattinacherry, the worst-hit village in the State
of Puducherry. The people of Pattinacherry have known the sea all
their lives and have no illusions about it. They know it can be
destructive. But when something that has been the basis and
foundation of their lives turns a stranger overnight, the resulting
confusion and fear can be paralysing. Till they are helped to cope
with that, they won’t be returning to the sea.
by
Subash Jeyan. The Hindu. 23/12/2007
.
Housing
problem of tsunami-hit unresolved
The
question of housing for the tsunami-affected in Tamil Nadu is still
unresolved even after three years of the disaster. Soon after the
tsunami, it was planned by the state and relief agencies to construct
55,228 houses for those affected in the first phase.
According
to official statistics, so far, NGOs have completed the construction
of 24,544 houses against the targeted 33,226 and the government has
completed 5,346 houses against its target of 22,002, leaving nearly
16,000 families with just the promise of a shelter.
by
Peer Mohamed. The Asian Age. 26/12/2007
.
President
to hand over 200 houses to tsunami victims in Car Nicobar
The
handing over of 200 houses to beneficiaries at Kinyuka village in Car
Nicobar on Wednesday will mark the beginning of the culmination
process of the tsunami rehabilitation programme in Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.
by
T. Ramakrishnan. The Hindu. 26/12/2007
.
3
years, and still without a home
THREE
YEARS after the killer tsunami struck the Tamil Nadu coast on
December 26, only half the number of the permanent houses meant for
survivors who lost their homes have been completed in the state. The
Shelter Construction Status Report of the Tamil Nadu government in
November 2007 admits that out of the total 53,323 houses planned in
the first phase of reconstruction for those directly affected by the
tidal wave, only 31,376 houses have been completed. Another 21,947
are in various stages of completion.
by
G C Shekhar. The Hindustan Times. 27/12/2007
.
Bank
of distress for survivors
The
killer waves that struck coastal Tamil Nadu on a lazy 2004 morning
after Christmas have long subsided, but there has been no respite for
the sea-ravaged fishermen. Homeless and jobless, most haven't been
able to get back to the sea. Promised Rs 20 lakh as part of the Rajiv
Gandhi Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme to buy new mechanised boats,
they are yet to get the money.
by
M. R. Venkatesh. The Telegraph. 27/12/2007
.
Look
back in terror
Three
years after Indian Ocean nations were lashed by massive tsunamis,
sombre ceremonies were held on Wednesday (26/12/2007) to recall those
lost in one of the worst natural catastrophes in modern times. Here
in Indonesia, mass prayers were held outdoors and at mosques across
Aceh, the staunchly Muslim province at the northern tip of Sumatra
island where 168,000 lives were claimed by the walls of water.
The
Hindu. 27/12/2007
