The Hindu : Front Page : Disaster management teams set up in the Andamans

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Thursday, Jan 06, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Disaster management teams set up in the Andamans

By Our Special Correspondent

FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN: A Sentinel tribal aims with his bow and arrow at a Coast Guard helicopter as it flew over an island in the Andamans two days after the tsunami struck on December 26. The Sentinelese, probably one of the world's only surviving Paleolithic people, are generally hostile to outsiders. The Coast Guard has refuted reports that the aboriginal population of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been threatened after the tsunami. Officials say that ancient knowledge of secret signals in the wind and the sea have contributed to their survival all these years. - AP

NEW DELHI, JAN. 5. Disaster management teams have been constituted in the tsunami-hit Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where relief efforts are concentrated on eight islands.

The teams have representatives of the Departments of Revenue, Agriculture, Public Works, Police, Fishery and Animal Husbandry and Civil Supplies.

Retrieval and burial or cremation of bodies are going on simultaneously. As many as 1,737 Central paramilitary personnel are lending a helping hand in this task as well as the distribution of relief material, according to the Information and Broadcasting Secretary, Navin Chawla.

The islands with a small population — Bamboka, Chowra, Little Nicobar, Pilo Millow, Tilanchang and Trinket in Nicobar — have been completely evacuated. All the affected islands have been provided satellite phones, and a point-to-point communication, including police wireless system, has been established.

Three jetties — one each on Car Nicobar, Nancowry (Kamorta) and Nancowry (Champin) — are fit for operations. The Health Ministry is monitoring the situation round the clock for any outbreak of epidemics. Medical teams, paramedics and medicines have been despatched and 10 trauma specialists have joined them.

3,000 rescued

A 379-strong task force of the Border Security Force (BSF) has been on duty in the tsunami-battered Kachhal island, he says. It has rescued more than 3,000 persons. In the ongoing Operation Seawave in the islands, the Army has deployed four engineer task forces, two rifle companies and a platoon of infantry, four medical detachments and six signal detachments. The Army has evacuated 2,852 persons and cleared 12 km of road.

In Tamil Nadu, four infantry and three engineer columns have evacuated 8,500 persons, treated 3,039 persons, recovered 67 boats and cleared 14.5 km of road.

In Kerala, five Army columns are running nine relief camps and they have evacuated 9,950 persons and treated 4,940 affected persons.

104 aftershocks

Mr. Chawla says that as many as 10 aftershocks ranging from 5 to 7 on the Richter scale have been recorded in the Nicobar region, taking the total number of aftershocks since December 26 to 104. The death toll has risen to 9,675 and the number of missing or those feared killed has gone up to 6,107. As many as 6.38 lakh people in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been moved to safer places. These includes people moved to relief camps. Over the past 10 days, the All India Radio has broadcast 10,000 messages, giving out the numbers of helplines and other messages.

The Power Secretary, R.V. Shahi, says that nearly 40 per cent power supply has been restored in Port Blair but the situation is critical on the worst-hit Car Nicobar islands where 22 out of 27 diesel generating sets accounting for 7 MW of power have been washed away. Six hundred diesel generating sets of two to three kWs each are being despatched to Car Nicobar.

The Department of Road Transport and Highways says that five teams of officers have assessed the damage in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It has been reported that about 160 km of national highways and 520 km of State roads have been damaged, besides about 50 structures.

The Union Minister of Communications, Dayanidhi Maran, today reviewed the restoration of communication facilities in the Andamans. In the first phase, BSNL has already energised INMARSAT terminals for establishing point-to-point connectivity and it is now being refurbished for use by the local population. The DoT is focussing on Car Nicobar, Little Andaman and Great Nicobar. Antenna and ancillary equipment of 2 Mb VSAT have been installed on Car Nicobar.