After Tsunami, flood hits the victims

Shikha Trivedy, NDTV

In the season of scams and corruption, no one has been spared. Not even the survivors of the Tsunami, who despite generous donations from corporate giants, are forced to live in the middle of a swamp, battling diseases. The resettlement colony for 830 Tsunami-affected families of Palayar village in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district was built in a swamp with hefty corporate donations. For almost eight months in a year it remains flooded. "Most of the low-lying lands are unfit area for construction of houses and living habitats. They just converted and got a go ahead and built it. They never assessed the quality or the height or level of the lands," said Jesurethinam, Convener, Coastal Action Network. While these shelters were being constructed, the people of Palayar were living in relief camps. They had lost all their possessions in the Tsunami, 48 men, women and children from the village had died. And the shell-shocked survivors were in no state to reject the government's rehabilitation offer. So they came, quietly to inhabit their new homes. After the first monsoon, the sewage lines collapsed and the roofs started dripping. The walls are always damp. "They have given us this house in the low lying area. Because of that our floors remain damp. In summers, the rain water residues and moisture turns into salt, damaging our ceiling," said a fisherman. The children of this locality have no memories of the Tsunami, only of the last time they fell ill with malaria or jaundice. They deserve better.

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