CHENNAI: Fishy report on tsunami deaths

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/fishy-report-on-tsunami-deaths/231891.html
 
By G Saravanan
Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on December 17, 2010:
 
CHENNAI: In a shocking instance of the state’s laxity, the Kancheepuram district administration has deni­ed the death of a fisherman in the 2004 tsunami, ostensibly to decline to the family of the deceased any rehabilitative measures such as houses built for those affected in the calamity.

It was in response to an RTI query related to tsunami deaths in a fishing hamlet in Muttukadu, that the Kan­cheepuram administration came out with the reply that may be termed a blatant lie.
While the state government and the media recorded four deaths at Karikattu Kuppam vill­age near Muttukadu during the tsunami, the district authorities said nobody had died in that area.

The RTI query filed by South Ind­ian Fishermen Welfare Association (SIFWA) had sought a list of persons from the fishing hamlet who died in the tsunami. The reply of the Deputy Collector — Relief and Rehabilitation (via Tsunami/56911/05 dated November 30, 2010) said there were no deaths at Karikattu Kuppam.


Express has a copy of the death certificate issued to a 65-year-old fisherman, K Raji, one of the four deceased from the hamlet. It says he “drowned in tidal waves” that hit the shore on December 26, 2004.

Apart from Raji, three other fishermen from the same village also died on that ill-fated day, members of SIFWA said. They are Abhisekh, Viveganandan and Abinesh.


Five years after the tragedy, the administration’s denial of any deaths has come as a shock to the fishermen.
“We sought the details in an RTI plea after discrepancies emerged in the allotment of permanent shelters for Tsunami-affected residents from the village. The reply was like yet another tsunami attack,” K Bharathi, president of SIFWA told Express. SIFWA has vowed to take up the issue with higher authorities.