Appeal for Post-Gaja Support – 11/12/2018

Appeal for Post-Gaja Support – 11/12/2018

The devastating impacts of cyclone Gaja continue to torment coastal communities in southern parts of Nagapattinam district. While people have slowly been trickling out of relief camps in many villages, a vast number of people continue to be dependent on relief shelters and community kitchens for their food and shelter. Only those whose houses have had relatively less damage have shifted back into their homes. A few of them have begun cooking at home too. However, there is a shortage of fuel supplies – firewood as well as LPG cylinders at both homes as well as community kitchens.

Figure 1: Vilundhamavadi community kitchen

Drinking water remains to be in short supply as many of the shallow aquifers have been rendered saline. Villages are having to depend on water tankers to supplement supply from the few functioning hand pumps. In the absence of electricity, diesel generators also being used to run some shallow borewells.  

Figure 2: Water tankers from Chennai in the region

Houses are in a dilapidated condition. The concrete houses are badly in need of several repairs. Terracotta roofed homes have had their roofs ripped apart. Houses with thatches and tin sheet roofs too have fared very badly. Families whose concrete houses are reasonable shape have shifted back to their homes, while others are still at the relief camps. Some individuals have bought tarpaulin sheets to use as roof covers over their broken roofs. However, in view of the skyrocketing demand, it has become in short supply in the local markets. Some good Samaritans and voluntary organisations have also donated them. However, a very small fraction of the overall number of households have received tarpaulin sheets. The govt has announced tarpaulin sheets for each household, but is yet to reach these villages.

Electricity is yet to be restored in most of these villages. Temporary diesel generators have been installed at a few of these villages to provide night time lighting at public places alone. This is particularly troubling for school going children. Given that it has been 3 weeks, govt schools in most of the region have resumed, and children are having to cope with no electricity, and the loss of many of their books in the storm surge.

In villages like Pushpavanam, the extent of sea silt inundating the village has made the villagers feel insecure about inhabiting in this location. They have placed demands to various govt bodies for their new houses to be built a kilometre away from the coast. Villagers have even identified the land for the settlements.

Figure 3: Pushpavanam – sea silt needing large-scale clearing up.

While the govt has announced plans for providing new houses for all those affected – it has mandated land pattas for anyone to avail of this scheme. However, most households along the coastal tracts here do not have those land documents as the govt has not provided private pattas in coastal areas for the last several years. Thus, this situation needs to be seen as an opportunity for the communities to demand land pattas in the coastal zone.

While normal life is yet to return, communities are also itching to get back to normal routine and go about their livelihood activities. They do not have cash in hand to invest in new boats or boat repairs. They do not have cash to invest in nets, engines too. The govt has promised an amount of Rs.85000 for all registered fibre boats from the villages of Kameswaram till Kodiyakarai. And has announced only a paltry figure of Rs.30000 for villages like Seruthur and further north. The ad-hoc argument of the govt is that Rs.85,000 is for fully damaged boats and Rs.30,000 is for partially damaged boats. The fundamental point remains that these figures are extremely paltry when compared to actual costs of boats, repairs, nets and engines which would easily come to 4 lakhs and above, depending on the type of fishing practised and gears used.

Women have been out of income and livelihoods as their fish vending and dry fish businesses have stopped. Accessory sectors to fishing like fish drying yards, boat building and boat repair centres have also been damaged. There have not been any packages announced by the govt for these livelihoods.

ANOTHER POTENTIAL DISASTER:

With reports coming in of further depressions and potential cyclonic storms in the bay of Bengal (IMD Bulletin), expected to hit the eastern coast on the 14th onwards, the sense of fear among the people is palpable. While the Met dept has put fishermen on high alert, it is yet to confirm the intensity of the depression and also the location of its landing. Even if there is no storm, a sustained spell of rains itself would be disastrous given this situation of the communities. While still speculative, it is necessary for us to take precautions of essential relief measures and be prepared with relief items.

As mentioned above, with fishing activities looking to take several weeks to resume, these families are several weeks away from having steady incomes and rotation of household cash. They would need all the sustenance support in this period before their livelihoods are rehabilitated. Support required could be:

• Rations – especially vegetables and other perishables as rice more readily available in most villages.
• Clothing and hygiene needs.
• Tarpaulin Sheets
• Water tanks for storage of drinking water
• Solar kits for night time domestic lighting and charging.
• Seed capital for nets, engines, boat repairs for fishermen and vending boxes for fisherwomen
• Notebooks for children.
• Etc.

This was meant to be a brief report to highlight the present conditions and the requirements of the community. The situation requires us to respond urgently to the humanitarian situation developing here, especially given the lack of nationwide attention at this moment of time.

Report by

SNEHA

Contact No: 9443316738