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Protest against delay in building tsunami houses

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

DEMANDING HOUSES: Residents of Vembakeerapalayam observering a fast at Sonapalayam in Puducherry.

PUDUCHERRY: More than a hundred residents of Vembakeerapalayam on Monday observed a fast in the town to protest the delay in constructing permanent houses under the tsunami rehabilitation process in their village.

The daylong fast was held at Sonapalayam on the Bussy Road.

Protesters, under the aegis of Vembakeerapalayam Village Panchayat Association, condemned the government for not initiating any steps to construct houses for the fishermen.

Representatives of the association said a total of 1,588 houses were to be constructed in the village for the fishermen.

They said the government had announced a year ago that the beneficiaries would be given a sum of Rs 2.30 lakh for constructing houses to the tsunami effected fishermen. The amount was offered to the fishermen as the government found it difficult to identify space to relocate them as it was been done in other coastal villages, they said.

The fishermen said even a year after the announcement was made they were yet to receive the financial assistance.

The representatives said they have become a victim of “political feud” between ruling party and opposition.

They criticised the government for not taking up the rehabilitation process in constituencies represented by opposition members.

The fishermen said they would launch an agitation against the government if they further delayed the rehabilitation process.

Later in the evening the representatives of the association along with Upplam MLA A. Anbalagan met Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and submitted a memorandum.

They told the Chief Minister to expedite the process of distribution of the financial assistance or to take up the construction work through the Project Implementation Agency, floated by the administration to manage the rehabilitation process.

The representatives said the Chief Minister promised to speed up the rehabilitation process.

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