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Chennai fishermen venture into sea again

     Chennai: Less than three weeks after the killer tsunamis devastated Indian coast, a group of fishermen in Chennai ventured into the sea on Friday, their sole source of livelihood for generations. Broken and battered by the sheer economics of survival, most have conquered their fears but are still struggling to put back the trauma of having lost loved ones, three quarters of who are children. "We are going about 50 kms. into the sea 18 days after the tsunami hit the coast. We have lost our nets, our baits. The government has to help us to get boats and nets," said a fisherman. The fishermen were the first group to be formally allowed to enter the sea after the Tamil Nadu state government lifted its warning. State Law and Information and Technology Minister Jayakumar, who flagged off the boats, said that though uncertainties about the future persist, authorities are doing their bit to bring back normalcy. "The fishermen are scared but they are coming out. We have done a trial today. Hereafter, they need not worry about tsunami," he said. The tsunami hit India's fishing community hardest as the southeastern coast is dotted with small fishing villages with poorly-constructed houses, some made of brick and bad quality concrete ,and shacks located right on the beach.

India's stone age tribals safe after tsunami (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: One of the world's most primitive people feared to have been wiped out after the tsunami smashed their palm-fringed islands in the Andaman and Nicobar chain are safe and eager to go back to their remote jungle habitate, Tribal affairs minister P.R Kyndiah said today. The tribes are amongst the most vulnerable after last month's quake and tsunami severely altered the landscape on Strait Island, 250 kilometres from Port Blair, threatening their fishing pockets, tracks and other landmarks, developed over generations and critical to their movement on the land and water. Many of the tribal people are semi-nomadic and subsist on hunting with spears, bows and arrows, and by fishing and gathering fruit and roots. They still cover themselves with tree bark or leaves. Their 62-year-old king is believed to have shepherded all of just over two dozen subjects to the s

Families of missing in tsunami to get compensation (Go To Top)

     Cuddalore: The district administration of Cuddalore has confirmed that they will pay an ex-gratia of Rs 1,00,000 after Pongal to those families whose kins are still missing after the tsunami struck on December 26. District Collector Gagandeep Singh Bedi said, "We have decided to put aside the normal procedure of waiting for seven years after a person goes missing to declare him dead." "For extraordinary circumstances as this, we have decided to act on the government order and issue the compensation amount of Rs 1,00,000 lakh each to the next of kin of the missing persons soon after Pongal," he said. As many as 48 people are still missing in the district, whose families have lodged First Information Reports (FIRs) at the local police stations. On the other hand, the state government has doled out Rs 1,00,000 each for the 615 persons killed by the December 26 tidal waves. It has now decided to waiver the waiting period to confirm the death of a person missing. Bedi further said, in order to simplify the formalities as much as possible, now the family can claim the amount by producing a copy of the FIR and a clearance certificate from the Revenue Department. No identification of the person concerned is necessary.