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7,000 houses in coastal villages at the mercy of weather changes

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

FACING DANGER: Houses located close to the shore at one of the coastal villages in Puducherry.

PUDUCHERRY: Around 7,000 houses in the coastal villages of Puducherry region are vulnerable to extreme conditions arising out of sea surge, according to a survey conducted by the Revenue Department.

The survey conducted in the Union Territory as part of the disaster management programme revealed that around 7,000 houses in 15 coastal villages of Puducherry came within 500-meter-high tide area and were “extremely vulnerable to the vagaries of weather.”

Officials in the Revenue Department said the dwelling units in the coastal villages of Karaikal region were located in a safe distance with a majority of the houses being relocated above 500 meters from the shore as part of the Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme.

A majority of the houses in the coastal villages of Puducherry region could not be rehabilitated owing to lack of space, they said, adding that the dwelling units were located within 200 meters of the shore, making it “extremely vulnerable.”

The vulnerable areas have been identified, taking into account the damage caused to the locality during past incidents and safety of the houses when waves crossed its normal height, a senior official said.

After the survey, the government had proposed to take up a special rehabilitation programme targeting the 15 villages, mainly to provide disaster resistant houses in the existing place.

Under the programme named “Reconstruction In-situ,” meaning construction at the same locality, the government also planned to provide the villages safe escape routes, early warning system and disaster shelters, officials said.

Additional Secretary-cum-Collector G. Thevaneethidhas told The Hindu that the government had approached the World Bank for an assistance of Rs 240 crore to implement the programme.

“We planned to involve the beneficiaries in the entire programme even from the design of the houses to its execution.

The government would only provide the technical assistance.”

Apart from the Vulnerability Mapping programme, the Revenue Department recently constituted a Hazard Safety Cell with the sole task to carry out inspection of both government and private buildings where people gather in large numbers.

The cell would identify the buildings that were not resistant to natural calamities.

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