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At
a meeting held on December 30, 2004, in Bombay House,
the Tata headquarters, a steering committee was formed
to oversee the Group's tsunami relief and rehab activities.
The members of the steering committee were Group chairman
Ratan Tata and senior Tata executives R. K. Krishna
Kumar, Kishor Chaukar, F. A. Vandrevala, Ravi Kant,
M. A. Pathan, Raymond Bickson, N. Chandrasekaran, S.
Mahalingam, Romit Chaterji, S. Parshuraman, Sarosh Batliwalla,
Mukund Rajan, Kaushik Chaterjee, G. C. Banik, B. J.
Shroff, Milind Rege and Anant Nadkarni. Mr Krishna Kumar
and Mr Chaukar were named the co-chairmen of the committee.
The Tata Relief Committee (TRC),
which functions under the aegis of the Sir Dorabji Tata
Trust, decided to concentrate its energies in Nagapattinam,
Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Cuddalore and Kovalam, the
worst affected districts of Tamil Nadu. P. K. Mohan
Kumar, general manager, Taj Coromandel, Chennai, was
made the point person and a control room was set up
in Chennai.
The objective of the operation
was two-pronged: short and long term. The short-term
measures included distribution of relief material while
the long-term activities were focused on housing, infrastructure,
the buying of boats and trawlers for fishermen, helping
women through self-help groups and vocational training,
dealing with trauma and identifying agencies for construction.
Mr Ratan Tata gave the direction
for this exemplary initiative when he said, "The
enormity of the devastation is perhaps the worst I have
ever seen. As a Group, we must put our combined weight
behind the relief operations to make a sustainable impact."
This sentiment was echoed by Mr Krishna Kumar, who added,
"TRC should seek to make a difference to the lives
of affected people by doing things differently."
Tata companies and employees
contributed generously to the Group's relief initiative.
Armed with the resources to back up its commitment,
TRC set about trying to bring succour to the affected.
It started by assisting in the deployment of earthmoving
equipment and the removal of debris, while also helping
move people to temporary shelters. The organisation
then began to work on a plan whose main components were
the restoration of livelihoods and long-term rehabilitation,
including housing and infrastructure. The idea was to
transform the devastated region's villages into a model
for 21st-century rural development.
TRC has thus far provided
relief material to 14,000 families. Temporary crèches
have been set up for children in association with Childline,
a non-governmental organisation. Much more, however,
needs to be done in the coming months. TRC, for one,
is up to the task.
Uploaded in
April 27, 2005
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