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Two years have passed since the tsunami disaster, but thousands of survivors are yet to return to their normal lives in coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, mainly due to the inordinate delay in allotment of permanent houses.
Though the government and non-profit organisations acted swiftly on various fronts in the aftermath of the December 26, 2004 tragedy, progress had been slow with regard to rehabilitation, particularly in providing proper dwellings, say survivors.
According to official statistics, around 37,000 permanent houses for the survivors are yet to be made in the state. In the worst-affected Nagapattinam district, construction work for 18,600 houses by the government and various agencies started in March 2005, but only 6,168 of them have been handed over to the beneficiaries.
The situation is almost the same in adjacent Cuddalore district. Among 2,393 houses ordered for construction by the Tamil Nadu government, only 1,703 have so far been completed.
According to district officials, site identification took a long time. And when sites were identified, survivors found them less convenient and wanted them to be located elsewhere.
Life in the temporary shelters has been 'painful' for the survivors for the past two years.
"They call these dwellings temporary shelters, but life in these dwellings has caused permanent problems to our health," says Senthil of Tarangambadi in Nagapattinam district, where construction work started only a few months back.
"Ever since we came to the shelters, we have been suffering from serious ailments. For the past few months, we have been hit by mysterious fevers. Hundreds of people have received treatment," says Kannan, another survivor.
According to Selvi of Nagapattinam, mosquito bites, poor sanitary conditions and heavy rains have wreaked havoc in their lives. Many people who have received permanent shelters are not happy either.
"The houses are too small. The bathrooms are too dingy. We feel as if we are staying inside a jail complex," says another survivor Vailankanni.
Most permanent houses in Cuddalore district, each costing Rs 1.50 lakh, have a covered area of less than 325 square feet. However, the situation is not that dismal with all the survivors. Those in Nagore's mini-towns, set up by the Mata Amritanandamayi Mutt, say they are happy in their new houses.
But administrations of the tsunami-hit districts are confident of putting life of the survivors back on track soon. Nagapattinam District Collector Tenkasi S Jawahar told PTI that the works were progressing at a rapid pace and were expected to be completed before May 2007.
However, despite the inadequacies in the housing sector, the tsunami-hit areas of the state have registered growth in other spheres like education, livelihood, productivity through self help groups and infrastructure facilities.
Most fishermen have become proud owners of fiberglass boats, replacing traditional catamarans. The government and NGOs have liberally donated such boats.
Women in the coastal blocks also have made good economic progress through activities like manufacture of leather articles, pickles, bricks, tiles, incense sticks and palm-leaf articles under SHGs.
Children in the fishing enclaves now have greater access to modern learning facilities with many multinational companies and other organisations setting up schools and institutions, providing high quality education.
Electronics major Samsung has started a school at Chinnagudi in Nagapattinam, while Sri Sri Ravishankar's International Association for Human Values has set up an integrated education complex, offering schooling, vocational training and computer education at Anaikoil.
SOS Children's Villages of India and the UNICEF have contributed substantially for improving facilities in the schools of tsunami-hit villages.
"In the pre-tsunami era, we had never heard of an English medium school. Now the situation has changed and our children are getting English education," says Perumal, a fisherman of Chinnangudi.
Under the Rs 151.71 crore-World Bank fund for infrastructural development, provisions have been made for potable water, roads, school buildings, health units, power supply and sanitation facilities in most of the areas.