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Nagapattinam: The Tamil Nadu Government is erecting temporary shelters at Kameshwaram near Vailankanni for the tsunami victims of Nagapattinam at a cost of around Rs 8000 per unit, inclusive of electrical fittings, sanitation facilities and water supply. The displaced people will stay in the temporary shelters for about six months, till the permanent houses would be built at safer locations of 500 metres away from the sea. In Serudhur village alone, 250 dwelling units will have to be constructed. The worst affected areas in Nagapattinam were Akkaraipettai and Nambiar Nagar. There was huge loss of life and property in Serudhur, Kameshwaram, Vilundamavadi South and North and a few other villages in Nagapattinam. Doctors, revenue officials and others are studying the survivors' requirements. Those who have lost a limb or eye would be given Rs 25,000 and those who had to undergo treatment in a hospital would be provided Rs 5000 and Rs 5 lakh would be deposited in the names of orphaned children. The compensation will be distributed this week. Life in the coastal areas is limping back to normal. Roads are being repaired and shelters built under the Food for Work programme. Fishermen are being helped and encouraged by armymen to get back to their work. Most of the schools in Nagapattinam district will reopen on Monday, January 10. Those who have taken shelter in school buildings will be moved to nearby relief camps such as community halls and places of worship. Attendance in relief camps is on the decline as many people have moved over to their relatives' places. Subsequently, the number of relief camps has come down from over 80 to 30 in Nagapattinam. Those in the relief camps will be shifted to shelters being built before Pongal festival. Meanwhile,
the professional counsellors camping in the area said that reopening of
schools would provide the much-required succour to the affected children,
as they would find solace while interacting with their peers. According
to an official estimate, a total of 1251 children have been orphaned by
the tsunami in Nagapattinam district. The district administration is planning
to set up a home for adolescent girls and women who have been orphaned.
Arrangements will also be made to provide vocational training and opportunity
will also be given to pursue higher education. |
