The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Tsunami: relief work under way

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Tsunami: relief work under way

By Our Kochi Bureau

KOCHI, DEC. 27. Rafiq and Sherina from Puthuvype will have a story to narrate for their lifetime. Nature played a cruel game on the day of their marriage. As soon as the ritual was over and food was being served, the seawaters came gushing in.

While people attending the marriage party rushed to safety and managed to send the newly-wed to a relative's place in Palluruthy, rented utensils and other paraphernalia were swept away into the sea.

Rafiq's father, Gafoor, and Sherina's mother, Zubaida, at the relief camp at the Government Girls High School, Ernakulam, looked calm. They heaved a sigh of relief in having been able to reach everyone to safety. But they could not suppress their anguish over such a disaster on a happy day.

From a 10-day-old to elderly men and women, those at the relief camp set up at the Government Girls High School, Ernakulam, wonder when they will be able to get back to daily routine.

While people are trying to come to terms to what has happened, they are relieved that there is no loss of life. There are 1,781 people from 411 families at the camp. Food was supplied in the forenoon by voluntary organisations.

Toilet facilities were poor and this might lead to an outbreak of epidemics soon, said C.M. Devassy, president of the Vypeen Block Panchayat.

100 houses destroyed

Around 100 houses have been destroyed. The district administration should provide rehabilitation for those who had lost everything, even their means of earning a livelihood, Mr. Devassy said.

According to M.I. Francis, Kanayannoor Taluk Tahsildar, houses are full of slush brought in by the seawater.

No celebrations

All the ongoing Christmas and New Year celebrations on beaches along this belt — the Vypeen Carnival, Puthuvype Beach Tourism Mela, Cherai Tourism Festival and Kumbalanghi festival — have been cancelled.

In a rare gesture, the organisers of Vypeen Carnival donated the amount earmarked for the festival to the relief fund. Sebastian Paul, MP, received the amount.

No senior officials visited the regions affected by the tidal wave attack, Mr. Devassy said. The stretch of road between Pallathankulangara and Edavanakadu has been damaged with boulders of the sea wall that were brought down.

A team led by Josey P. Thomas, convenor of the Puthuvype Beach Tourism Mela, spent the whole day trying to clear the debris and bring to the mainland what all remained of the festival, which included an ambulance washed off the shore by high tides. A 30-member circus team, comprising people from Tamil Nadu and Northern India, have been accommodated at a nearby hall.

Towards the south, 1,200 people from Chellanam and Kannamali are put up at four relief camps in Kumbalanghi. The Union Minister for Power, P.M. Sayeed, had visited the camp and offered financial support, said M.P. Sivadathan, president of the Kumbalanghi Panchayat. Officials of the Kerala Water Authority and Department of Health are camping in the area. Life has started returning to normal on the Fort Kochi beach. Foreign and domestic tourists started pouring in today.

Burglary

The police have intensified patrolling along the coast after complaints of burglary in empty houses. They are facing problems as many areas are still cut off owing to water-logging, said M.N. Jayaprakash, Superintendent of Police (Rural). The police have been asked to monitor the entry of strangers into the area. Many panchayats have called for checking of vehicles leaving the region.

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