Shubha Khandekar

In keeping with its promise to the people of Nagapattinam, devastated by the killer tsunami that hit the Tamil Nadu coast in 2004, the Tata Group has helped rebuild not only their homes but also their lives

Saturday, April 28, 2007, marked a watershed in the lives of the people of Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. With smiles lighting up their tragedy-scarred faces, survivors of the terrible killer tsunami that washed away their homes and loved ones in December 2004, waited patiently in the warmth of the midday sun to enter a new phase of their lives.

The row upon row of pink and white houses, gleaming bright and new in anticipation of their new occupants, formed a fitting backdrop to the ceremony unfolding in the flower-bedecked pandal set up specially for the occasion. As the eager tenants cheered, Kishor Chaukar, managing director, Tata Industries and chairman, Tata Council for Community Initiatives, entrusted the new township, christened Tata Colony, to the minister for rural development and local administration of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin.

Then came the moment for which 828 families had been waiting for over two years — the minister handed over to them the keys to their new life.

The event marked the fulfilment of yet another commitment made to itself and to the community by the Tata Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation Project — Tamil Nadu, a special vehicle set up under the Tata Relief Committee (TRC). RK Krishna Kumar, chairman of the core committee of the project and member of the Tata Group Corporate Centre, who was disappointed he could not be present at the function, has taken a keen personal interest in ensuring that all the relief and rehabilitation activities undertaken by the project lead to a sustainable and holistic improvement in the lives of the beneficiaries.

Towards this end, the Tata Colony at Nagapattinam, which was constructed at a cost of Rs22 crore, includes essential infrastructure such as a sewerage treatment plant and two community amenities centres, plus extras such as a desalination plant, solar powered street lights, and two village knowledge centres. The colony has been built on a plot of 14.75 acres provided by the government of Tamil Nadu, and each of the 828 new houses has a plinth area of 383 sq ft (422 sq ft with common area), with a hall, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and toilet. An added luxury is a balcony for the first floor residents and a veranda for those living on the ground floor of the two-storey houses.

Speaking on the occasion, Chaukar expressed the feelings of all those who contributed to making this project a success: “Today, the images of death and devastation are fast being replaced by symbols of renewal and revival, of hope and resurgence! As we present the houses to the survivors in Nagapattinam, it is pertinent to point out that the Group’s approach has not just been about creating concrete walls, but homes which will help put together pieces and bring meaning back to their lives. Though the effects of the disastrous tsunami remain deeply entrenched in the minds of the people, the Tata Group is committed to creating a community of hope, trust and strength.”

The day after the killer waves struck
Wild, wanton waves of the Indian Ocean tsunami lashed the eastern coast of India furiously on December 26, 2004, leaving behind ruin and desolation within a matter of minutes. After that, it took the Tata Group less than 24 hours to go full swing into action, and put together a multi-coloured quilt of essential services, from identifying the worst affected areas to distribution of standardised family kits containing 20 items such as utensils, personal wear, mattresses, bed sheets and blankets. Sixty school kids stranded at the Port Blair airport were brought back home to Kolkata, while relief material was reached to Nagapattinam within 36 hours.

This spirit of concerned, efficient and well-organised effort, buttressed by the Group’s substantial resources, trickled from the apex, down to every volunteer in the field. The collective resources of the Group were placed at the disposal of the Chennai chapter of TRC, which has close to 20 years of experience in disaster management, to conduct the relief operations and channelise
the resources.

TRC reached out to victims in the Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts to get on with the relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation. The sweeping range of these operations conveyed to the hapless victims the singular Tata Group
message loud and clear: We are with you.

Thus, in the biggest operation of its kind in Asia, Tata Motors organised transportation of relief materials, the Taj Group got busy with the catering arrangements at the base camp, TCS took charge of the community training programmes during the rehab phase, Tata Projects came forward to set up desalination plants and Tata BP Solar India laid out solar-powered street lighting, while the construction of 828 dwelling units was taken up through Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. The Group’s contribution was well-augmented by its 2.35 lakh employees who donated a day’s salary.

The handing over of the outcome of 28 months of relentless work, carried out with the utmost and pervasive involvement, underscores the motto that is at the core of the Group’s community initiatives: making a sustained developmental impact on the lives of people. P Balasubrahmanyam, IAS (retired), director, relief operations, TRC says, “It was a God-given opportunity that came to me through the Tatas. I took a vow that post-retirement I will only work for a charitable or religious or spiritual cause.”

As the residents enter their dwelling units to set up once again their homes and get on with life with confidence and freedom from want and fear, the memories of the nightmare they lived through for over two years will fade, with time.

In concert with the community
The Tata Group’s initiative took care of the immediate as well as long-term needs of the tsunami victims. To ensure to them aid with dignity, the Group began by sending students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to speak to victims in every village along the 600 km coastline and identify their needs. Thereafter, the opinions of the affected communities and users of the amenities provided were incorporated into every relief and rehab operation as a mandatory component of the package.

Architects studied the villagers’ lifestyle, consulted them on design and left room in the dwelling units for further expansion both vertically and horizontally. And, while undertaking the task of restoration of livelihoods, due cognizance was taken of the aptitudes and desires of those fishermen who wished to change their occupation. Hence were launched the literacy and the alternative employment generation programmes.

In the districts of Tamil Nadu where the Tata Group has been working, the organisation has encouraged local youth to take up alternate livelihoods and provided them with the necessary infrastructure support. The idea was not merely to restore what once was, but to transform the face of the affected districts by strengthening infrastructure and creating model villages, as per local aspirations and wishes.

The seaweed culture plant at Kovalam constitutes an important alternative livelihood programme initiated by the Group. It aims at growing certain weeds in shallow waters of the sea, which would fetch a monthly income of Rs10,000 per family. The seaweeds grown are used in the food, textiles, pharma, brewing and cosmetics industries.

The Tata Group also provided training to students in catering, refrigeration and desktop publishing; some of them have already been recruited by BPOs.

The TRC-Loyola outreach programme at Kovalam aims at providing self-employment to widows. The activities undertaken include making jewellery boxes, shell-based handicrafts, candles and embroidery. Special coaching and nutrition programmes for children have also been launched.

In addition, the adult literacy initiative is expected to expand the choices available to people, who are now enabled to take their pick of a wide variety of job initiatives.

Long-term measures undertaken by the Group consisted of distribution of fibreglass boats, catamarans, outboard engines and fishing nets, created as per the specifications of the fisher folk. And when the first boat set out from the Kovalam boatyard on March 4, 2007, it had, along with the jubilant fishermen and women, the Tata team aboard.

In partnership with the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, the Group set up multipurpose village knowledge centres (VKCs) which encompass a marriage hall, a library and a training centre. The VKCs also have coastal communication links in a hub-and-spoke structure. This link provides early sea-warnings, and data on marine conditions, fish locations, local market conditions with auction possibilities, vocational classes, adult education facilities and fish cleaning and marketing information. The VKCs have become very popular centres for community interactions.

To read what the people of Nagapattinam have to say about the relief efforts, click here

Uploaded in August, 2007