The Hindu : Kerala News : Law on disaster management soon

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Friday, Jan 21, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Law on disaster management soon

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, JAN. 20. A draft law on disaster management would be discussed at the next Cabinet meeting, said the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy.

Addressing a public meeting today after laying the foundation stone of the houses to be built in Edavanakadu panchayat for the tsunami victims, Mr. Chandy said the State Government had formed a separate department for disaster management and the proposed law would assign responsibilities to various agencies in the event of a disaster. The manner in which each of the agencies would function will be mentioned in the law, he said.

Expert committee

An expert committee headed by A.E. Muthunayagam, executive vice-president of Science, Technology and Environment Council, has been constituted to look into viable and scientific alternatives for seawalls. The committee would elicit the views of the public by holding sittings in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kozhikode, among other places, he said.

He said the scientific community in the State was not in complete agreement with the setting up of seawalls along the coastline. Seawalls would be constructed in areas where there was public demand for it. The case of other areas would be considered based on the report of the expert committee, Mr. Chandy said.

Rehabilitation

Besides providing permanent shelters to the tsunami-affected people, the Government would initiate steps for comprehensive development of the villages that were damaged by the waves, he said.

He sought the cooperation of the public in ensuring that relief reached the genuinely deserving people.

Drinking water supply

The Chief Minister said the Government was actively considering a proposal to set up a desalination plant on Vypeen island to solve drinking water shortage. The issue was raised by M.A. Kuttappan, MLA, in his welcome address. Kochi Refineries Ltd. has come up with a proposal to set up a desalination project for Vypeen islands, he said.

Responding to a memorandum submitted by the Vypeen block panchayat, Mr. Chandy said the Government would try to find a sponsor for purchasing an ambulance for the block panchayat. The ambulance owned by the panchayat was damaged in the tsunami attack.

K.M. Mani, Revenue Minister; V.K. Ebrahim Kunhu, Industries Minister; K.V. Thomas, K. Babu and V.D. Satheesan, MLAs; Sebastian Paul, MP, K.B. Muhammad Kutty, president, Ernakulam district panchayat; C.M. Devassy, Vypeen block panchayat; and Antony Isaac, Chairman, Greater Cochin Development Authority, were among those who attended.

A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, District Collector, presented a report on the damage caused by the tsunami waves on the island.

Construction of houses

The Government, in association with voluntary agencies and donors, will rebuild 26 houses in Edavanakadu panchayat by March.

The houses will be built on 1.18 acres at Maya Bazar at Edavanakadu. Each house would be constructed on three cents and the State Government will shell out Rs. 50,000 for each house. The Kuwait-based KGA group will contribute Rs. 1.25 lakhs for each house. The construction will begin on Friday and would be completed before March 31. Each housing unit of 406 sq.ft. will have two rooms, kitchen, dining room and toilet.

A total of 250 houses were completely damaged in the tsunami attack. However, offers to support the construction of 350 houses have been received, said the District Collector. The surplus support received would be used to repair the damaged houses, he said.

The issue of drinking water shortage on the island was raised at the function by the local legislator, M.A. Kuttappan.

Though the Vypeen component of the HUDCO-aided drinking water project would soon be completed, the promise of one million litres of water a day would remain a dream for the islanders as the pipe connecting Aluva and Ernakulam had not been laid, Mr. Kuttappan said.

He sought the cooperation of islanders to implement alternative methods to solve the water shortage in the area,as it would take at least two years to complete the pipeline for the project.

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