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A giant tsunami waves, triggered by a massive earthquake off Sumatra in Indonesia, smashed into Indian coastline on the morning of December 26, 2004, unsuspecting people were swept away by waves as high as 15 metres and similar was the fate of buildings, roads, ports, jetties, plantations, crops, beaches and other property. Among the worst-affected were Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Scattered Islands
Here, it is essential to understand the topography of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to comprehend the challenges of relief and rehabilitation measures. The emerald islands floating in splendid isolation appear to be tiny dots on the map of India, giving an impression that they are quite close to each other. However, the length of the archipelago from one greenish end to the other, doted by 572 islands in between including the 36 inhabited ones, endowed with exotic marine species, palm fringed beaches, coral reeves and lush green forests, is more than 700 km, separated from each other by the vast blue waters of the Bay of Bengal. Most of the relief materials had to come from the main land such as Chennai and Kolkata that are 1200 km away from Port Blair, a voyage that takes more than 60 hours single way. To move things from Port Blair to the southern most points like Campbell Bay by ship takes another 50 hours on an average.
The Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands can be classified into two, separated from each other by the geographical Ten Degree Channel, South of which is the Nicobar group of islands, and the North, the Andaman group. Most of the loss of life and property occurred in the southern group—Nicobar, Car Nicobar, Chowra, Teressa, Katchal, Kamorta, Trinkat, Nancowry, Little Nicobar and Great Nicobar islands, as they were closet to the epicenter of the earthquake. Unlike the mainland, it was a double attack on the Islands, first the earthquake that rocked buildings and infrastructure, closely followed by the tsunami waves that unleashed a force equivalent of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atom bombs, spelling death and destruction.
In the Andaman and Nicobar Island the prime mode of transportation both for intra and inter-islands is boats and ships. The first casualty of tsunami was the shipping infrastructure - jetties and vessels. 21 out of the 49 jetties spread across the islands and seven vessels were badly damaged, two got sunk. Compounding the problems were roads ripped apart, approaches were deluged with fallen logs, broken houses, debris and displaced soil. Water supply lines in many islands were snapped and power supply cut off, telecommunication links failed. Over 10,500 hectares of farmland and plantation crops were spoiled by seawater ingression and over 1.5 lakh livestock perished.
Challenges in Rehabilitation
The Centrally-administrated Andaman and Nicobar Islands were in the center-stage of the Government’s relief efforts. The first priority was to rescue those who survived the tsunami, dispose off bodies and to revive the basic infrastructure – jetties, telephone links, water supply and electricity. The Indian Coast Guard ships and other merchant vessels were immediately pressed into service to rescue the affected. The Indian Air Force despite the fact that some of their own family members had perished in the Tsunami, helped in lifting relief materials to the affected areas from Port Blair for locating the survivors. Medical teams were mobilized and with the help of Indian Coast Guard ships and helicopters, first aid and treatment was promptly provided. Over 61 Non-Governmental Organizations helped in the relief and rehabilitation work.
Communication Network
The Development Communication Network that was established by the Indian Space Research Organization to help impart vocational training to the Islands’ youth and the HAM operators, popularly known as amateur radio operators, metamorphosed as the vital communication service providers till gradual restoration of the telecom facilities.
Safeguarding Tribes
The Negroid aborigines of Andaman group of islands such as the Jarawa’s and Sentinalese, were found to be safe. The Nicobarese tribes such as the Onges, Great Andamanese and Shompens who are well into the mainstream and literate faced the brunt of the calamity as they live in the southern group of islands which got devastated.
Restoration
After the rescue and relief operations, the priority has been to provide the affected people living in makeshift tents with intermediate shelters before the monsoon. Materials weighing over 14,500 MT steel and tin sheets was brought from the mainland for this purpose.
Designs for permanent houses for those who lost their residential units have been readied by the Home Ministry and the Islands Administration. The prototypes of the permanent houses have been erected so that the public could see and suggest any modifications if required so that the designs based on the felt need and preferred structural parameters could be made on a large scale for the beneficiaries to feel at home.
Livelihood restoration is another area of concern as more than 11000 hectares of farm lands including plantations had been inundated with the saline water, fishing industry got severely crippled and tourism was badly affected. Revival of tourism is being undertaken on a large scale by the Centre and the Islands Administration, major national and international tour operators have been facilitated to visit the islands in May 2005 to judge the potentials and promote beach, water, eco, trekking and adventure tourism.
To reclaim the farm lands, action plans have been devised for scrapping of salt-laced top soil, enrich it with organic manures, pumping out stagnant sea water, application of gypsum to neutralize salty molecules and nursing and planting coconut seedlings. Revival of fishing sector in a larger scale is also being attempted.
The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh as well as the Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, visited Andaman and Nicobar islands to review the relief and rehabilitation measures. The Centre has come out with economic packages to rebuild islands like Car Nicobar, Campbell Bay in the worst-hit Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It has plans to reconstruct the archipelago into one of the best island habitations, more thriving than before tsunami. Resilience wins, and the people of the Islands are on the road to bounce back with greater vigour to make it one of the most happening places on the tourism map of the world as well as in agriculture with special emphasis to organic farming, fisheries and other eco-friendly areas.
*Assistant Information Officer, PIB, Chennai
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