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Winds accompanying Cyclone Gaja touched 180 kmph, blowing away houses and leaving thousands of people homeless in its wake.
Thatched houses crumbled, asbestos and tarpaulin sheets were blown away and even pucca houses with concrete roofs were damaged as the storm crossed the coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam on November 16. Thousands of people now have to either build their houses afresh or significantly rebuild damaged houses in the delta districts of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur.
No data
There is no official data on the number of houses damaged.
Two days after the cyclone, S Anand, a labourer in Ayakkarambulam village in Vedaranyam, returned home only to see his thatched house crumbled. “Father made a temporary shelter using whatever material was left,” said Anand’s daughter Vinodhini, who is in her seventh standard, pointing to the small tent next to the damaged hut.
The scene is similar across the three districts. In some places, lack of power and water has made life miserable for those without homes.
For instance, the house of C Vasantha, in Siruthalikadu, a fishing hamlet, came crashing with all household items like stove, television and cupboard, caught underneath. “For a month we have been living in a neighbour’s house. How long can we continue to live in others’ place? The government should come to our rescue immediately by providing us shelter,” she said.
Widespread destruction
M Krishnamurthy, President of Sirudalaikaadu village panchayat, which has a population of around 1,800, said that out of 420 houses in the panchayat, over 50 have been completely damaged.
In the last one month, government officials have been regularly visiting the village to assess the damage but no compensation has been paid so far. There is a huge demand for tarpaulins and koorai (thatch). NGOs and the State government have been supplying them to the affected, he said.
On his part PV Rajendran, a resident of Vedaranayam and former Member of Parliament, helped residents of Sirudalaikaadu by providing roof tiles through sponsors from Tamil Sangham in the US.
“It is very difficult to meet the demand. The government should come forward and take action immediately to help those without shelter. For over a month, the State government has been saying it was prepared to handle cyclones. However, it underestimated Gaja’s ferocity,” he said.
Prompt action sought
The government has the bank details of the people, and should have transferred money to those who were affected to start rebuilding their houses. There is no point in giving essential materials like rice, soap and mosquito coils after 30 days, Rajendran said.
As rebuilding of damaged houses will take time, the government’s immediate priority should be to provide temporary shelter to those affected and release funds to construct new houses, he added.
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