Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Relief camps hard put to handle influx

By G. Mahadevan and T. Nandakumar

A scene from a relief camp in the city on Thursday. Photo: S. Gopakumar

By G. Mahadevan and

T. Nandakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. Dec. 30. Relief camps which were operating for the past few days in the city were quite unprepared to handle the massive influx of people who fled their homes in the coastal areas following the Government's tsunami warning this afternoon

Resources at many camps were stretched thin by the sudden surge in the number of people. While there was no shortage of food and medical supplies at the camps, there was an acute shortage of mattresses and sheets.

The acute inadequacy of toilet facilities at many relief camps, especially in the government schools, has given rise to fears about the spread of communicable diseases. Already, four cases of dysentery have been reported from the BNV High School, Thiruvallam.

At the Girls' High School, Manacaud, the local residents' association swung into action, arranging for more food and water for the hundreds who came to the camp today. Long queues formed in front of the hall where volunteers were preparing food.

Confusion at the Ambalathara UP School which had 500 families was confounded when some youth who came in a jeep in the evening shouted out that the seawaters had reached the next junction.

Horrified women and children ran out of the camp and on to the road. Faisy, a volunteer at the camp, told The Hindu that many women and children had a narrow escape from the speeding vehicles on the highway. The Thiruvananthapuram RDO, M. Sasikumar, who came to the camp then said that some miscreants were spreading false news about sea-surges in the coastal areas.

Things were more calm and orderly at the four relief camps operating at Chandavila, Kazhakkuttom and Alummoodu. At Chandavila, officials of the KINFRA video park threw open their shopping centre for people who came there from Kadhinamkulam and Mariyanad.

More than 600 people were housed at the St. Mary's church, here. When the number of people at the Alummoodu LP School grew beyond control, about 700 people were shifted to the nearby Muslim High School.

Worried about thieves

Many people had no idea exactly why they had to flee. Ponnu a 65-year-old woman from Kadhinamkulam, said that she ran out of her house in the afternoon along with five others when she heard people shouting that the sea would come on to the land at any moment. Another woman, Shanti, said she was worried about thieves entering her house which she had no time to lock.

At the Thiruvallam LP School, housing 750 people from Poonthura and Edayar, women recounted how they fled their homes in panic on receiving the warning about a tsunami wave. In many places, the panic was fuelled by rumours about advancing seawaters.

"We just ran out of our houses without bothering to collect anything. Many of us clambered aboard KSRTC buses and police vehicles which were made available to us. The others waved down autorickshaws, goods vehicles and cars," says Thresiamma, a resident of Poonthura.

An army unit from the Pangode military camp has taken over the work of providing cooked food to the inmates of the relief camps in the Christ Nagar School and the BNV High School. The team led by Lt. Col. Vincent d' Souza and comprising four JCOs and 35 jawans has set up a cookhouse at the Christ Nagar School. Army trucks are being used to transport people from the overcrowded camps.

The Deputy Tahsildar, Sivarajan Nair, who is overseeing the arrangements at the BNV High School, said food material and medicines are being purchased as and when the need arises. Efforts were made to improve hygiene and sanitation facilities at the camps. Preventive measures have also been taken to check the spread of communicable diseases, he added.

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