Kumaraswamy to hand over keys of houses to tsunami victims
R.K. Radhakrishnan
CHENNAI: When Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy hands over keys of about 160 permanent tsunami houses at a village in Villupuram later this month, it will once again serve as a reminder that the people of the two States do not wait for relations between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to improve to help one another.
Immediately after the tsunami, it was a phone call between alumni of Ramakrishna Vidyasala, Mysore, one now in Thanjavur and the other in Mysore that triggered the cooperation between the two States. “Initially, my classmate Narendra and five of his friends landed up. From then on, we zeroed in on Modaliyarkuppam and have been working here,” said S. Marudhudurai, a surgeon with the Thanjavur Medical College.
The number of volunteers pouring in with cash and offer to help kept increasing in size to the extent that they formed an informal group, the Mysore Citizens Forum, merely to get more organised and direct their relief efforts better. Initially, the aim was to cater to the livelihood needs of fishermen. The village panchayat requested them to replace the 30 boats that were lost in the tsunami. “We ran out of money around this time. We approached the JSS Mahavidyapeetha, Mysore, and also the Karnataka government,” recalls Dr. Marudhidurai. Soon, the government, a religious institution and a loosely-knit citizen’s forum were working in tandem and implementing a project worth Rs.600 lakh. In the first phase, on the allotted land, 90 houses were built. Now, the rest are ready. Early this month, Mr. Kumaraswamy wrote to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi informing him of the progress and his intention to visit the State for the inauguration. “In the second phase, 160 houses with an outlay of Rs.336 lakh have been completed and will be given to the beneficiaries,” he said and added that he would preside over the inaugural function on September 29.
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