The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Villagers under psychological stress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 29, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Villagers under psychological stress

By C.Narayana Rao

NELLORE, DEC. 28. For Krishnaiah, a middle-aged fisherman of Gangapatnam Pallepalem, December 26 will be long remembered as a "Black Sunday," as the tidal waves entered the village and vast areas got inundated on that day.

A number of houses were razed to the ground, including that of Krishnaiah. Fortunately, the mishap occurred in the morning, allowing him to salvage the maximum number of household articles. However, the agony and despair he had undergone will never be compensated. Also his house has been ravaged with almost the entire village coming under the impact of the tidal wave. The dusty road to the village has become highly inaccessible and for the villagers it will take a number of months to recover.

Extensive damage

In fact there are several Krishnaiahs, in the main villages of Pallepalem, Krishnapuram, Mypadu and Nelaturu, where the damage has been heavy. For Pallepalem, fortunately, the local big drain has proved to be providential as it could hold a large quantity of water. Otherwise, the entire village would have been washed away. Already, there have been rumours that the village temple has been submerged, but fortunately there is no damage.

Right from Sunday, scores of VIPs, including the Chief Minister, Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy, visited Pallepalem and offered the usual sops, amid protests that the arrival of help and assistance from the officials was late. Some more VIPs are slated to visit the area. But the question is whether the life of people like Krishnaiah will be back to normal with mere assurances, as Pallepalem village tops with 10 deaths, officially. But the unofficial figure may be more.

On the fateful Sunday, of the 10 women who went into the sea, nine were found missing. Later, three returned, but the fate of others is still not known. More than the damage, it is the psychological stress, which is having an impact on the villages.

It is their wish that areas which bore the brunt of nature's fury should not become `picnic spots' with people from different parts of the district coming and then vanishing after having gone round the areas.

Some villagers sought the immediate restoration of the boats and nets and are not prepared to wait till the official statistics are completed.

With no word about their dear ones known till today, the fishermen are worried about the fate of the missing persons, although the administration has claimed that there are no missing persons.

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