‘I can’t say if my loss is bigger than the gain’

‘‘I lost my mother in the tsunami but we have to carry on. I cannot believe by luck. I was the first person in the village to get keys to my home,’’ says Anpadatayya.

Smriti Vanam, the colony constructed by Mata Amritanandamayi Trust, is also a memorial to the washed away village and its people.

‘‘This is a model colony with all the basic facilities. We have planted lots of trees in the memory of those who died,’’ Dr M Aravindakshan, advisor (horticulture), Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, who is doing the landscaping here, says.

‘‘The 325-sq-feet houses have a living room, a kitchen and a small second room. We built just as the people wanted. Bathrooms and toilets have been built outside, but attached to the houses, just as they wanted,’’ says site engineer R Suddhi. The colony has wide metal roads, more than 2,000 saplings have been planted and further landscaping is in progress. The colony has a drainage system and an effluent treatment plant.

The people, too, have pledged to maintain the colony. ‘‘We know how fortunate we are to get these houses. It is up to us now to maintain them,’’ Subramanian, a fisherman, says.

If fishermen of Samanthampettai are already celebrating, the long wait for others living in temporary shelters is coming to an end.

The South Indian Federation of Fishermen Society is constructing about 500 houses in Tharangambadi and Karaikal in the first phase. Regional Managar Ephrem says rains affected the pace of work. ‘‘Otherwise we would have handed at least some houses by now,’’ Ephrem says. ‘‘People from the shelters come here daily. They want a proper roof over their heads,’’ Ravi, the construction incharge, says. ‘‘With new fibre boats donated by the NGOs and a new house to look forward to, for many of these poor fishermen, the tsunami was a blessing in disguise,’’ he adds.

Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action is constructing 1,140 houses in Pushpavanam in Vedaranyam Taluka, Thiruvennalpettai, Thodavai and Kuzuoor. ‘‘The construction took time because we have to consider the preferences of those who would stay in these houses. The fishermen panchayats, in many instances, rejected housing models or sites,’’ CASA’s Rajkumar Thambu says.

‘‘We are trying not to break up the communities. So a reconstructed colony has be near the old village. Eighty five per cent of land procurement is over and construction has started at a number of places. If not for the rains, we would have handed over many houses by this December. Now, much of the construction may be over by April or May,’’ says Annie George, CEO of the NGO, Coordination and Resource Centre.

About 20,000 houses are being reconstructed in Nagapattinam district. In neighbouring Cuddalore district, 648 beautiful houses have already been handed over in Devampattam and Chinnavaikal. ‘‘It is almost a year now and I cannot say if my loss in the tsunami was more or the gain now. I am fortunate to get this house,’’ says Palanivale, a resident of Devampattam.