The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Fishing net mending hall planned at Kokilamedu

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 13, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Fishing net mending hall planned at Kokilamedu

Staff Reporter

TSUNAMI PROJECT: Jeorg Eduard Krumsiek, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, Deutsche Bank, Germany, at the compost yard in Kokilamedu near Mahabalipuram on Tuesday. — Photo: S.S. Kumar

CHENNAI: Construction of a fishing net mending hall will soon begin at Kokilamedu village near Mahabalipuram. The new facility is part of the tsunami rehabilitation programme taken up jointly by Exnora and Deutsche Bank.

Jeorg Eduard Krumsiek, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, Deutsche Bank, who inspected the works, said the bank would take up similar projects in association with Exnora.

Couple of years ago, the bank was looking for partners to take up rehabilitation works in tsunami- hit fishing hamlets in Tamil Nadu. They approached Exnora and the NGO agreed to prepare projects to be implemented in the fishing villages, said the Exnora authorities.

Mangalam Balasubramanian, vice-chairman, Exnora, said the NGO had taken up rehabilitation works in two villages, Kokilamedu and Venpurusham in Kancheepuram district, and Levingipuram in Tirunelveli district last year.

The works were taken up at a total cost of Rs 68 lakh and so far the Exnora had completed works to the tune of Rs 43 lakh. The total cost of the works was borne by the bank, she said.

Talking about the various rehabilitation programmes at Kokilamedu and Venpurusham, she said work on constructing 48 toilets in both the villages were completed and 68 toilets would be constructed very soon.

Similarly, the adopted villages would get two fishing net mending halls at a total cost of Rs 18 lakh.

Already work on one hall had been nearing completion and soon it would be dedicated to local villagers, she said.

Job schemes

Exnora had also taken up alternative income generation schemes to village youths by training them in boat repair and net mending works. About 20 youths from both villages were trained.

K. Ranganathan, panchayat president, Venpurusham village, said many houses were built without perimeter walls. The NGOs should help in constructing the walls, he said.

P. Ramesh, a resident of Venpurusham village, welcoming the efforts of Exnora said the fishing net mending hall would be of great help to the locals. During peak summer, fishermen could use the hall as a waiting place before entering the waters.

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