Madhya Pradesh CM distributes houses among Tsunami victims in Nagapattinam

Chennai, Jan.24 (ANI): In a magnanimous gesture, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday distributed around 340 houses among the Tsunami survivors in Tamil Nadu's most affected Nagapattinam district.

On Saturday, Chouhan handed over the keys of around 340 houses built for Tsunami survivors in Nagapattinam district and said it cost around 253,000 rupees per house.

"We have built around 340 houses for tsunami affected people of Tamil Nadu in Nagapattinam district. Today, we feel fortunate to have come here and dedicate the houses to the people who survived the tsunami," said Madhya Pradesh CM Chouhan.

The tsunami housing project of Seva Bharati, a non-governmental organization, was constructed with the support of 94.3 million rupees from the State government of Madhya Pradesh.

"Whether it is north, south, east or west, we are all sons and daughters of our mother India. We share our happiness and sorrows with each other and therefore it is our duty to help each other when a natural calamity hits any state. I feel fortunate to have been able to help those families who were devastated after the Tsunami," Chouhan said.

The project for building houses for the victims was started in 2006 and was executed by Seva Bharati, under the supervision of Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO). The state government of Tamil Nadu provided over nine acres of land for this project.

The giant tsunami waves, triggered by a powerful earthquake that in all killed over 230,000 people across Asia and Africa. It swept across southeastern and southern coast, killing 12,405 people and leaving millions homeless.

India was among the most severely hit by the Tsunami, with a death toll of more than 7,400 in southern Tamil Nadu alone. The tsunami also made 1.8 million homeless.

A 9.15 magnitude undersea earthquake off Sumatra Island, the strongest in four decades, triggered the tsunami, which smashed into shorelines as far away as East Africa. (ANI)