Schools in Nagapattinam district that functioned as relief camps for a few weeks after Cyclone Gaja continue to provide refuge to the affected people at night.
Classes are conducted as usual during the day in schools in Vizhundamavadi, Vettaikaraniruppu, Kovilpathu, Vellapallam and Pushpavanam dotting the coastal stretch between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam.
After the school hours, displaced residents occupy the classrooms.
The start of relief camps, most of them in schools and other educational institutions, in Nagapattinam and other coastal districts well before the cyclone made its landfall, saved scores of lives.
In Nagapattinam district alone, 77,319 families comprising 1,09,480 men, 1,29,924 women, and 46,063 children were accommodated in 415 camps.
The Nagapattinam district administration declared holidays for schools that housed displaced people in large numbers.
But, subsequently, authorities prevailed upon the displaced people to render their cooperation for smooth conduct of the schools during the day time. There was a compulsion for the Education department to complete the stipulated number of working days in an academic year.
Initially, there was misconception among the displaced people that only those who remained in relief camps would get benefits announced by the State government. They were convinced after repeated assurances by government officials that their fears were misplaced, a senior official of School Education Department said. Fortunately, they also realised their responsibility towards the student community. In most of the camps, children's families were the ones who were displaced, the official said.
Their presence was not felt since the building infrastructure was much more in proportion to pupil strength. The district administration took care of the daily water and food requirements of the people living in the camps, he explained.
The Education department was conscious of the reality that the displaced people could not be sent home at least for one more month. Restoration of electricity in interior parts of the district, vital requirement for the people to resume their normal lives, was still in progress, the official added.
