The Hindu : Other States / Pondicherry News : Medical officers, health educators undergo training

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Thursday, Feb 03, 2005

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Other States - Pondicherry

Medical officers, health educators undergo training

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, FEB. 2. An 18-member team of medical officers, health educators, nurses and of the Pondicherry Health Department today underwent a one-day training to relieve through psycho-social care the tsunami-hit people of the trauma and psychological disturbance if any in the wake of the December 26 tsunami strike in Pondicherry and Karaikal coastal regions.

The programme was held at the Government General Hospital here under the scheme of the World Health Organisation for psychological intervention for the victims of tsunami. Doctors of the Departments of Psychiatry and Paediatrics in the Centrally administered Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research here were the resource persons.

The doctors of the two departments had already held such training programme, covering the government schoolteachers and also volunteers of the National Service Scheme, who would approach the children and the adults in the coastal villages and identify the psychological problem.

The Professor and Head of the Department of Psychiatry in JIPMER, R. Chandrasekaran said that this was the third batch of the persons who have direct rapport with the people in the affected areas.

It was assessed that 15 villages and 10 hamlets in Pondicherry and Karaikal regions were hit respectively by the tsunami. The medical personnel would in the next stage hold discussions with the people in groups. The trainees would be provided with the guidelines they should adopt while carrying the benefit of the training on the targeted groups.

Fishermen to resume work

An official source said here today that with the Government having started distribution of assistance to the fishermen to carry out repairs to their fishing vessels, there was the possibility that fishermen now keeping off the sea would resume work next week.

As much as Rs 8 crores had been disbursed so far out of Rs 43 crores earmarked for assistance to the fisher folk for repairs of the vessels damaged in the tsunami attack.

The Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare was disbursing assistance at Rs 4.5 lakhs for fully damaged vessels, Rs 2.5 lakhs or Rs 1.5 lakh on the basis of damage suffered by the craft.

The source said that owners of catamarans with outboard motors and other type of the catamarans are also provided the aid to carry out repairs.

International team

A 12-member of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and United Nations Development Programme will visit the tsunami-hit villages tomorrow, according to an official source here.

The team would hold parleys with the Lt Governor of Pondicherry, the Chief Minister and also officials of the Revenue department, the source said. They are also scheduled to visit Cuddalore before proceeding to Karaikal region of the Union Territory of Pondicherry.

The Territorial Government had already projected to the Centre the total loss at Rs 500 crores.

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