DP-Index-mar08-lead5
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A section of
DOCPOST which is an
extract, executive
summary, index
rolled into one.
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REHABILITATION AND
RECONSTRUCTION
426 dwelling
units to be replaced
with tsunami-resistant houses
Enquiries
reveal that this programme,
to be funded by the Union Government and the World Bank, will cover
dwelling units located up to 1000 metres from the high-tide line
(HTL) or 200 metres on either side of backwaters in order to protect
the people from natural calamities. The 426 dwelling units,
identified as vulnerable houses, are separate from the new houses
being constructed under the Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme (earlier
referred as Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Package).
The
Hindu, 01/03/2008
Tsunami-hit entitled to shifting
charges
Beneficiaries
of the scheme to replace
houses vulnerable to natural calamities along the coast with
disaster-resistant dwelling units are entitled for one-time shifting
charges and reimbursement of monthly rent for 12 months. Enquiries
reveal that Collectors of coastal districts, other than Chennai and
Tiruvarur, had identified a total of 52,569 houses located within
1,000 metres from high tide line (HTL) and 200 metres from
backwaters, as vulnerable to natural calamities. They had suggested
that the houses be replaced with disaster-resistant dwelling units
under the World Bank-assisted Emergency Tsunami Reconstruction
Project (ETRP) and financial assistance from the Centre.
The Hindu, 03/03/2008
Livelihood support scheme for
tsunami-hit
Livelihood
support items worth Rs.34
lakh were distributed to the tsunami-affected at a function.
Beautician kits, wet grinders, fish carts, mobile bunks, ice boxes,
umbrellas, ‘murukku’ machines and a van were distributed to over
800 tsunami-affected people at the Slum Clearance Board office on
Kamarajar Salai.
The Hindu, 07/03/2008
Biometric technology used to issue
identity cards
In
a bid to monitor and evaluate
livelihood activities of self-help groups (SHGs) which benefited from
the tsunami emergency assistance scheme, the Commissionerate of
Municipal Administration (CMA) has launched a pilot project in the
city to issue identity cards using biometric technology. Camps for
recording fingerprints and facial images of the SHG members are in
progress at the Tiruvottiyur and Kathivakkam municipalities. The
CMA's project coordinator S. Murugesan said the use of biometric
technology envisaged collection of unique and authentic information
about the beneficiaries. It would help the CMA to monitor and review
the progress of SHGs that have either received training or loans or
revolving funds in the tsunami affected areas.
by K. Lakshmi, The
Hindu, 30/03/2008
Tsunami
shelter handed over
A
tsunami shelter, constructed at a
cost of Rs.50 lakh by the TTK Group, at Paramankeni Kuppam in Lattur
Block was formally handed over to the local body
The Hindu, 09/03/2008
Reconstruction
of SCB tenements back
on track
The
demolition of the Slum Clearance
Board (SCB) tenements near the Marina beach, which is a component of
the project to reconstruct 7,000 tenements between Nochikuppam and
Srinivasapuram, is back on track, according to officials. Several
rounds of talks were held with ministers and officials. Tentative
lists of beneficiaries have been put up and disputed for more than a
year. Consensus has been reached and temporary shelters would be
constructed in two months, an SCB official said. The design is ready
and tenders would be called for shortly. Priority was given to the
tsunami-affected in the list f beneficiaries.
The Hindu, 21/03/2008
Tamil Nadu
tsunami-hit get two water
plants, health centre
Two
desalination plants and a
healthcare centre, set up by the Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII) in partnership with KPMG group of industries as a relief
measure for more than 1,000 victims of the December 2004 tsunami,
were opened in Tamil Nadu. Built in Palaverkadu village in
Thiruvallur district, about 50 km north from here, these initiatives
were made possible with a $250,000 donation by KPMG International
towards rehabilitation of tsunami victims.
Thaindian
News, 25/03/2008
Thai doctors offer new hope for
tsunami mothers
Like
other women from Ban Nam Khem, a
small fishing village on Thailand's Andaman Sea coast, she chose to
be sterilised.But when the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami struck, it wiped
out her village and killed half of its 5,000 inhabitants -- including
two of her children.Now, Thai doctors are trying to help women like
37-year-old Lamyai rebuild their lives and families by offering free
surgery to reverse the sterilisation."If it is possible, I want
two more children," Lamyai told Reuters Television before her
operation.
by
Vorasit Satienlerk, Reuters,
14/03/2008
Community hall
for tsunami-hit
inaugurated
Slum
Clearance Minister Suba
Thangavelan inaugurated the community hall built for tsunami affected
families living in HLL Nagar in Tondiarpet. HLL Nagar has over 1,000
tenements built on 5.27 acres donated by Hindustan Unilever Limited
(HUL) for the tsunami-affected. Ashok Gupta, HUL executive director,
inaugurated a nursery school in the complex.
The Hindu, 27/03/2008
Engineers Without Borders Provides
Clean Water to Villagers
Villagers
in fishing communities along
the coast of Andhra Pradesh who had lives turned topsy-turvy by the
Asian tsunami in December 2004 are getting a helping hand from
Engineers Without Borders. Chapters of the Colorado-based
professional volunteer organization in Houston, San Francisco and Los
Angeles are collaborating on an India pilot project to build a water
station dispensing “safe and sustainable drinking water to these
coastal communities,†engineer and San Francisco chapter member
Deepa Gandhi told India-West recently.
by Richard Springer,
India West,
08/03/2008
Half New Orleans Poor Permanently
Displaced: Failure Or Success?
Government
reports confirm that half of
the working poor, elderly and disabled who lived in New Orleans
before Katrina have not returned. Because of critical shortages in
low cost housing, few now expect tens of thousands of poor and
working people to ever be able to return home.
by Bill Quigley,
Countercurrents.org,
04/03/2008
Bhopal gas tragedy victims return to
PM with a reminder
Two
years ago, a group of people from
Bhopal walked down to Delhi seeking a meeting with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh for a rehabilitation package for Bhopal gas tragedy
survivors. The result was the formation of a coordination committee
to settle rehabilitation issues of the victims. It was the first such
initiative by the UPA government for a problem that is 25 years old.
The
Business Standard, 29/03/2008
