Cuddalore Dst shows the way

Cuddalore, Dec 1: One of worst affected in the tsunami tragedy on December 26, two years ago along with neighbouring Nagapattinam, the coastal Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu has become the first to have rebuilt not only the destroyed houses across 29 habitations fully, but also taking up the task of building additional houses.

According to District Collector Gagandeep Singh Bedi, thanks to cooperation from the Tamil Nadu government and NGOs, 2323 houses washed away by the 'killer waves' have been rebuilt fully and An equal number of additional houses were being built across 37 habitations for poor fishermen, Dalits and Irula tribals.

The houses have been built across 50 acres of land, mostly provided by the Tamil Nadu government.

The post-tsunami rehabilitation was also made possible with timely assistance from UN agencies and the Corporate Sector.

Mr Bedi said Cuddalore district also scored first by reviving the livelihood of the devastated families. The package of Rs 27 crore provided by the state government was used to repair boats, engines and nets. with NGO assistance, mechanised boats were put back in the sea on June 1 last year itself.

In one of the worst affected Thalanguda village, inputs from the state government to the tune of Rs 252.32 lakhs ensured good relief for fishermen to restore their livelihood. The houses have a minimum area of 325 sq ft and are earthquake and cyclone reistant. The Tamil Nadu government has provided Rs 158 crore to the district through own funding and loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank to undertake the rehabilitation works and provision of infrastructure in the affected regions.

According Mr Bedi Cuddalore district has also introduced a 'pilot project', the first of its kind in the country, for community disaster preparedness.

The project launched in co-ordination with the UNDP has wireless sets combined with sirens and public address systems installed in 55 'most vulnerable villages' in the first phase. This would enable quick flow of information about any impending disaster to the community, like a tsunami, cyclone or floods.This would be provided in all the 681 villages in the district especially the vulnerable areas in every village as earmarked through participatory rural appraisal exercises.

Under the Prime Minister's Relief Scheme, a scholarship amount of Rs 300 per month was also being given to all students in the coastal areas, from class 1 to class 10. This has also given a boost to the education sector in the entire coastal Tamil Nadu.

All these efforts have not been futile. The United Nations has declared Cuddalore as a model district in providing tsunai relief.

UNI