The Hindu : Kerala News : Alapad resembles a ghost town

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 30, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Alapad resembles a ghost town

By Ignatius Pereira

KOLLAM, DEC. 29. Three days after battering Alapad panchayat with a volley of devastating seismic waves, the sea today appeared calm here.

All the five wards of the panchayat and the Shrayikad area which bore the brunt of the tsunami present the picture of a ghost town. As many as 141 people lost their lives in the district alone. Most of the houses had been destroyed by the waves. Even those that had not been damaged have been deserted by the owners owing to various reasons. Fear of a fresh tsunami onslaught is the main reason for the residents leaving their homes and seeking refuge in relief camps.

Water shortage

The biggest problem in the affected areas is the acute shortage of drinking water. Following the onslaught of the waves, most of the wells in the area got buried under sand and the water in the wells that survived has turned saline.

Interestingly, none of the coconut palms in the affected area has been uprooted. It is the tender coconuts of these palms that are now the prime source for quenching the thirst of the relief workers. In fact, a group of relief workers are engaged in harvesting tender coconuts and supplying them to the relief workers all over the area. But by today, almost the entire crop of tender coconuts in the area was harvested.

Power supply hit

Since power supply to the area had been snapped, water supply through taps has also been affected. This morning, a generator was used to resume supply in a couple of tanks and at these spots relief workers were seen filling up bottles to be supplied. Various social and cultural organisations are supplying drinking water to the needy.

From morning, the affected areas started attracting visitors. There was a continuous flow of people to the area. They came there with the specific purpose of seeing the havoc wreaked by the tsunami. Among them, there were many from the neighbouring districts of Thiruvananthapuram and Pathanamthitta.

Meanwhile, efforts are on to resume power supply. The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has started erecting new concrete posts and drawing cables.

The Kollam Superintendent of Police, S. Sreejith, said that 60 constables had been deputed on patrol duty in the area. All relief camps are under the total control of the police. Each camp is under the charge of a tahsildar or a block development officer.

The police have opened two helplines and the numbers are 9847916000 and 9847915000.

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