People's Democracy

TSUNAMI DEVASTATION IN A&N

CPI(M) Plunges Into Relief Work

Hannan Mollah

TOURISTS and lovers of nature have natural attraction for mountains, forests or sea, and run to different places to enjoy the natural beauty of those scenes. So if all the three are available at one place, it naturally becomes a unique object of attraction. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands were one of such unique destinations for people. Thousands of tourists used to visit those islands every year, and the rush was increasing day by day. But the dawn of December 26 dawned on the islanders as one of the worst-ever curses on humanity. The dying 2004 caused innumerable deaths in the islands and destroyed its beauty to a great extent, through the tsunami --- an unheard of term for the common people.

Along with several countries of South and South East Asia, India faced the wrath of nature on that black morning, which left thousands dead and millions homeless in Andaman & Nicobar, Tamilnadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. This natural calamity not only killed people, destroyed properties and damaged the beauty of the islands; it also left a permanent scar of horror and nightmare on the minds of those who survived. In these island alone, about a thousand have died and over 5000 are missing, most of whom may never come back. Having lost their near and dear ones, thousands of people are passing through a trauma and feeling of uncertainty. Hundreds are left without family members, many lost their wives or husbands or parents, many children are now orphans. This hour of great human tragedy demands that all of us work unitedly to stand by the sufferers. Works of rescue, relief and rehabilitation have to be done on war footing.

Immediately after getting the information about the devastating effect of the earthquake and tsunami, the Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) appealed to the whole nation to come forward and unitedly face the unprecedented national calamity and stand by the victims. The West Bengal state committee of the party and the Left Front government immediately plunged into action. Gautam Deb, who is in charge of the party in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, contacted the Andaman CPI(M) leaders at Port Blair and assured them that the West Bengal party and government would be taking all possible steps to help the victims. On December 28, Gautam Deb reached Port Blair with some relief materials. An emergency meeting of the state committee decided to mobilise the entire party, mass organisations, government employees’ organisation and others for massive relief operations in Andaman district. The office of the Hinterland Seamen Union at Phoenix Bay was turned into the CPI(M) centre for relief operations.

The party leaders and NGO Association’s leaders and functionaries visited various places at Port Blair and in South Andaman area affected by the earthquake and tsunami, and contacted the workers and activists for rescue and relief work. Along with local MP Monoranjan Bhakta, Gautam Deb visited all the worst affected areas on December 28, by helicopter. He was one of the first leaders from the mainland to visit the affected areas. Immediately after that, West Bengal state committee sent massive amounts of relief materials to Port Blair, from where our comrades sent those materials to various affected islands. A five-member team of doctors from Kolkata was also sent and medical camps with huge medicines were set up in different accessible places like Dairy Farm, Haddo and in Little Andaman. Relief camps were set up at different places in South Andaman.

The West Bengal government also sent huge relief materials like rice, dal, medicine, clothes, drinking water etc worth Rs 2 crore on December 31; these were directly handed over to the Andaman & Nicobar administration. Besides, the public health and engineering departments of the West Bengal government sent engineers to assist the local administration to restore the drinking water projects in outer areas, particularly in the Little Andaman. They also sent generator sets, machineries, tools etc to different outstations.

Gautam Deb immediately met the lieutenant government of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and assured all possible assistance to the island administration. West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya assured the Andaman & Nicobar administration of all assistance to face the calamity. Initially, the island administration could not properly mobilise immediate rescue and relief operations in the affected areas due to bureaucratic laziness, in the absence of any democratic set-up in the island. No effort was made to solicit the assistance of even local voluntary organisations, political parties, service associations etc. However, with the help and direct involvement of the defence personnel, the administration was subsequently geared up, particularly for relief operations. The presence of Gautam Deb and later on of Kanti Ganguli, another minister of West Bengal government, in the islands helped the CPI(M) comrades to organise relief operations in a better manner. Along with relief materials, the West Bengal state committee also sent Rs 5 lakh to the Andaman & Nicobar state committee for smoothly organising relief operations. Inspite of engagement in relief activities, the CPI(M)’s Andaman & Nicobar Islands state committee also organised relief fund collections in Port Blair and Dighipur.

I came to Port Blair on January 11, to visit the affected people and organise relief work. Though the Andaman & Nicobar Islands administration initially took our help and cooperated in relief work, it later on refused to carry our relief materials to different islands. The government relief has been organised through Ramakrishna Mission, Bharata Sevaashram Sangh etc, as usual. I discussed the matter with the lieutenant governor Ram Kapse and with relief commissioner. The lieutenant governor then ordered the administration to carry our relief materials by boats in different islands without any cost. He also requested to send bamboos from West Bengal and Kerala. We readily agreed and talked to the government of West Bengal. The West Bengal chief minister ordered for collection of bamboos and send 50,000 pieces to Port Blair as early as possible for construction of houses for the victims.

I visited several relief camps run by the government, NGOs and our party in Port Blair, Sippighat, Chouldhari, Wandoor etc and met the affected people. I also visited Middle Andaman and North Andaman which were affected by the severe earthquake. Many houses and buildings were damaged and cleavages in the land and roads were created at different places. People are still panic stricken and not living in their houses; they are spending their nights outside. Along with CPI(M) state secretariat members Chandrachuran and S Chatterjee, we took three full trucks of relief materials and distributed them at Baratang, Uttara, Kadamtala, Nimbudera, Nimbudanga, Billiground and Mayabunder in the Middle Andaman. We also visited Mohanpur, Kalighat, Shrikrishnapur, Keralapuram, Kalipur and Dighipur in North Andaman, where relief materials were brought by boats.

State party leaders Tapan Bepari, Sobha Rani Majumbar, Gauranga Maji, Ramjibon Sarkar and others accompanied us. Our party had already sent relief to distant islands like Havelok, Neel Island, Ramkrisnapur etc in the Little Andaman. But we could not reach there because of the destruction of jetties are in Hutbay, Campbell Bay, etc. But now that these jetties have been restored and the administration has agreed to carry our materials by boats, the CPI(M) has decided to send relief materials and volunteers to those places. Party secretary K G Das and state leaders Abdul Samad, H N Paruial, Chandrachuran etc, who have so far been handling the relief operation from the state centre, will now go to those areas for relief and rehabilitation work.

If we look at the devastation, the Nicobar group of islands is the worst affected. The Great Nicobar is the southern most island where ex-servicemen were settled. Most of them were Sikhs or Telugu speaking. The last point of Indian territory, called Indira Point, lies along what is known as Campbell Bay. There was an air base here, but it was totally destroyed. The helipad, jetty,etc were also destroyed. A large number of people died here, including some Air Force personnel. Surprisingly, the nearby Noncowry Island was not much affected and the surviving victims have been kept in relief camps there.

The maximum loss of life was in Kachal Island. The Nicobari tribal people died here in large numbers. Some people of Sri Lankan origin were also living there, and many of them have died. The largest number of missing people are from Kachhal. Many teachers, policemen, electricity workers, forest workers have been badly affected. Other smaller, tribal dominated islands like Teras, Chowra etc were also affected but to a comparatively lesser degree.

Another badly devastated island is the Car Nicobar, which houses the headquarters of the Nicobar group of islands. Here, members of the largest Nicobari tribe were killed. The island is badly damaged. The airport and Air Force base were destroyed. Many Nicobari villages were totally devastated. Government employees have died in good numbers.

Some four or five islands of this region, small in size, have been submerge under the sea. One island has been broken into three pieces. Little Andaman is another among the bigger islands which have been severely devastated. The Hutbay jetty has been destroyed. All shops, houses and offices were just reduced to rubbles. Nicobari villages were destroyed and all buildings up to 8 km washed away. The people were affected up to 11 km.

The problem is not so much on account of death as on account of destruction. The “Onge” tribe is safe in Dugang Creek. The Shompen tribe of Great Nicobar is also safe, as per the information given by the administration. Jaroas in the Middle Andaman were not affected.

One thing is clear. The death and damages multiplied due to the gross violation of coastal regulations. If no habitation had been allowed up to 200 metres from the seashore, 80 per cent of the destruction could be avoided. This lesson has to be kept in mind for future.

After visiting different places and discussing with our leaders, we prepared a report and formulated our suggestions for the administration to implement in phases. I sent forward those suggestions to the lieutenant governor along with a covering letter.

In these islands, the relief work for the people affected by tsunami must continue for some more time and the defence personnel should continue their work, especially in reconstruction work in the worst affected areas. Medical teams need to prevent any epidemic outbreak. More trauma centres are needed to cover a larger number of the affected people. Special care of children is needed. Special short term as well as long term schemes for orphans, women and widows need to be chalked out.

For rehabilitation, construction of echo-houses must be taken up. Habitation should be allowed only at more than 200 metres distance from the seashore.

Overpopulation in the islands has already caused serious problems. No more outsider should be allowed to settle in these islands now. Deforestation should be strictly checked.

A proper list of the dead needs to be made and their families compensated. Proper assessment of the losses suffered by each affected family needs to be made and proper compensation given without discrimination. Complaints from many people in different camps about not getting immediate financial assistance must be looked into. These steps need to be taken in the entire tsunami affected area as well as in the earthquake affected areas of Middle Andaman and North Andaman.

In the most affected areas like the Nicobar group of islands and South Andaman, tribals must get special attention in the relief and rehabilitation measures. At the same time, the affected non-tribals, who were there in the Nicobar group of islands for government and private works, must get the rehabilitation benefits without discrimination. The poor wage-earning labourers, brought to these areas by contractors, must also be rehabilitated and compensated.

The unemployed must be given some job immediately, specially those who lost their private sector job. The tourism sector, the mainstay of the economy, must be immediately restored. Those who have suffered losses in this sector must also get some compensation. Subsidy may also be thought of.

Restoration of the Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) and repair of the Austin Strait Bridge have to be taken up immediately. Repair of ATR in some places like Sippighat, Chouldhari and in the Dighipur sector is urgently needed to restore easy movement of people and restore confidence in their minds.

The stock of vegetables is rottening in Dighipur as there is no arrangement to send them to Port Blair. As a consequence, both farmers and consumers are suffering. Till the Austin Bridge is restored, the vegetables may be allowed to be carried by passenger cum cargo boats of higher capacity. Essential commodities need to be supplied to all parts of the island. LPG must be made to the Middle and North Andaman immediately. Black marketing should be checked effectively.

Government employees who directly suffered due to the tsunami must not be posted in the affected areas --- at least for some more time --- so that they may recover from trauma. Schools and colleges should restart. Students must be supplied books and other materials as and when they need them.

A large part of cultivable land is covered by sand or salt water. These lands must be desalinated and sand removed, so that cultivation could resume.

Fishermen are one of the worst affected sections. They have lost life, houses and jobs. They are in great trouble, as they are unable to go out for fishing. They must be given adequate compensation and assistance for rehabilitation and also the fishing materials to start work. Small shops and businessmen are also pauperised. They should be assisted to re-start their business.

All this is an arduous task and all concerned need to join hands for its implementation. Not only the government, but also the political parties, NGOs and individuals need to be mobilised in this effort. An all-party meeting must be called to discuss the expert opinion and take proper decision to save these islands and their people. As for the CPI(M) and the West Bengal government, though they have extended full cooperation in rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts, they are not content. They have decided to further assist in the tasks required for the tsunami victims.