Tsunami affected get houses, not homes at Nagapattinam

Chennai, Dec. 25: Five years after the tsunami swallowed much of Nagapattinam including 6,065 lives, the coastal district that received funds to the tune of around Rs 1,100 crore from the government and various NGOs has been transformed into a wealthier district but the living conditions of the victims remain abysmal as before.

While square concrete homes of different colours line up in almost every patch of vacant land, a vast majority of the fishermen and their families continue to live along the coast in their old homes. According to the district authorities, over 19,069 permanent homes have been constructed and handed over to the beneficiaries but most of these homes are used as a second home or just remain locked.

Fishermen cite various reasons for returning to the seaside. “Our homes do not have any drainage facility. It is impossible for us to live here during winter as our area is flooded,” says Mani from New Nambiyar Nagar where over 800 homes have been built by an NGO. “How can women and children live in homes without toilets?” he asks.

For most families of fishermen in the affected districts, the tsunami has helped only in wealth accumulation as influential families have wrestled more than their share of homes and relief funds. “Almost every family in our area now owns more the one home, some have even rented it out,” says Sahayam, a cab driver from Velankanni. “Most joint families have now split and each son or daughter has received a permanent home making a farce of the relief efforts.”

Local leaders feel that relief measures were, by and large, meaningless. “Instead of constructing so many homes, the authorities could have spent money on improving drainage facilities, better electric supply and other essential amenities that could make lives better,” says Mr Sampath Kumar, head of the Pattinechery village close to Nagore.

Nagapattinam collector C. Muniyanathan claims that while issues were present, relief efforts were by and large successful. “Barring a few bitter experiences with NGOs, the district is a lot more prosperous now.”

But, with so many fishermen returning to the coast, another tsunami could be just as disastrous. “We have a better disaster alerting system now,” says Muniyanathan.