The Hindu : National : Relief efforts focus on Andaman and Nicobar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 31, 2004

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National

Relief efforts focus on Andaman and Nicobar

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 30. Continuing the relief and rehabilitation work in the tsunami-hit region, the Centre today focussed on the worst-hit Andaman and Nicobar, including the inaccessible islands south of Car Nicobar.

A high-power Group of Ministers (GoM) also reviewed the ongoing relief operations in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry and Kerala.

Plan for disaster management authority

After chairing the two-hour-long GoM meeting, the Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, told reporters that the Government planned to enact a law to set up a National Disaster Management Authority for providing immediate assistance in the event of a natural calamity.

"Such an authority will spell out what emergency relief and rehabilitation measures should be taken at State and district level and how funds should be released," said Mr. Patil. Special efforts were being taken to provide relief in the scattered islands of Nicobar. An additional battalion of Central paramilitary forces and several Army columns were being despatched to assist in the rehabilitation work. "We have also sent several helicopters and aircraft since ships cannot anchor because of massive damage to jetties in these islands," Mr. Patil said. Asked about reports of a breakout of an epidemic, he said bodies were being disposed of. Chlorination of drinking water was taken up in the affected areas, he said, adding that the situation was under control.

Later, A.K. Rastogi, Secretary, Disaster Management Division of the Home Ministry, said that about a dozen ships and 16 aircraft were engaged in relief and rescue operations in the affected regions. Paramilitary forces were helping in the disposal of bodies and participating in relief work. About 90 tonnes of relief material were airlifted from various nodal points and the Navy had transported another 15 tonnes of material.

As many as 5,900 persons were still missing or feared killed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands where the official death toll was 359. About 1,200 persons had taken shelter in five relief camps there. In Kerala, he said, about one lakh people had taken shelter in 200 relief camps. In Tamil Nadu 304 camps were sheltering 2.37 lakh persons and in Pondicherry 45,000 persons were living in 46 camps. The official death toll stood at 7,368, Mr. Rastogi said.

The armed forces conducted aerial survey of outlying islands and helicopters and aircraft were carrying out damage assessment of the southern islands. Army engineers had operationalised the Karaikkal bridge in Pondicherry and another in Kerala's Alapuzha district. Naval divers in Kollam were searching for bodies and removing obstacles while in Nagapattinam they had succeeded in opening the fishing channel. An aerial survey was being conducted in the inaccessible areas of Nagapattinam, official sources said.

Help for Sri Lanka

In the neighbouring countries, an armed forces hospital had been airlifted to Colombo while surveys of Trincomalee and Galle channels were being carried out to identify the wreckages. On a request by the Sri Lanka Government, a team of divers and more helicopters were being sent.

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