Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

A better fishing hamlet rises from tsunami ruins

Ramya Kannan

Sulerikattukuppam rebuilt by Rotary Clubs of Madras, Bombay

CHENNAI: The phoenix seems to be a favourite metaphor, post tsunami. While the mythical bird is said to have risen from the ashes, there are hamlets that rose from the ruins the tsunami reduced them to. Appropriately, the Rotary Club of Madras termed its tsunami relief project Project Phoenix.

A small, attractive booklet, `Project Phoenix. A journey from ruins to resurrection,' chronicles the story of Sulerikattukuppam, a fishing hamlet off the East Coast Road, about 30 km from Chennai, that was rebuilt by the Rotary Clubs of Madras and Bombay after the tsunami.

The booklet details how the villagers received `nothing short of a windfall' as their thatched huts gave way to concrete houses, amenities such as a sewer system, water connection and electricity made available to them for the first time. Their boats were replaced with state of the art fibreglass motorised boats, complete with life jackets, nets and fishing gear.

They found the community hall built by the Rotarians of great use and are thrilled by the promise of a refrigeration plant, electronic fishing trackers, a school, hospital and knowledge centre by the end of April.

No wonder the leaders of the community wrote a letter expressing their eagerness to change the name of Sulerikattukuppam to Rotary Nagar! "We are indebted to all of you and we won't forget all your help in our lifetime," a translated version of the letter says.

Collective effort

However, the chairman of the Rotary Club of Madras' Tsunami Relief Committee, N.K. Gopinath, says, "All this has been possible due to the collective effort of every member of the Rotary Club of Madras, the Rotary Club of Bombay, other Rotarians and Rotary Clubs in India and abroad, corporates, NGOs, Banks and above all, the fisherfolk of Sulerikattukuppam."

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