The Hindu Business Line : Kerala: Tsunami victims between Govt and deep sea

THE future of thousands of tsunami victims in Kollam district remains uncertain, as the Government is yet to implement its rehabilitation package even as most of its relief camps are being closed.

The Army, which has been doing yeoman service in the worst-affected areas of the Alappad Panchayat, is also said to be closing down the relief camps run by it.

The inmates of these camps are a worried lot now. Though the Government has announced various schemes for the rehabilitation of the families who had lost their houses, nothing has been implemented so far, the inmates of a relief camp said.

Even one month after the killer waves had rendered them homeless, the authorities have not finalised their rehabilitation, they alleged.

Apart from routine relief operations, the Army, they said, has been providing counselling and operating two heavy-duty ferryboats between the mainland and the island separated by the sea and the backwaters.

Even the temporary shelters offered by Government have not been completed. However, the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, was quoted as saying, after meeting Mata Amritananda Mayi, that construction of these shelters would be over by February 20, while the construction of permanent houses would be competed by May 15.

The Chief Minister was in the Mata Amritananda Mayi Madom for discussions on the implementation of the projects proposed by it.

The madom had proposed to implement rehabilitation projects across the country at an expenditure of Rs 100 crore. A major chunk of this amount would be invested in the Kollam district.

The Vice-Chairman of the madom, Swami Amrita Swarupananda Puri, said that it (madom) would implement the project as soon as the Government approved its proposal. He said houses for victims who had lost their homes in Kollam would be constructed.

It was ready to construct houses as per the plans supplied by the Government, he said. It has already constructed nine temporary shelters and all day-to-day requirements of the occupants are met by the madom.

The madom has started construction of 2,500 houses in Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, while it has undertaken the re-construction of three villages in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, madom sources said.

The Chief Minister said the project proposals submitted by the madom was being considered by the Government. A high power committee is studying the proposals and a decision would be taken soon, he said.

The Centre has already allocated Rs 245.94 crore for tsunami rehabilitation progra- mmes, while the NGOs have contributed about Rs 200 crore. Yet, the implementation of the package is being delayed inordinately, the victims alleged.

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