Nagapattinam was among the areas worst affected by Cyclone Gaja, which made landfall in Vedaranyam in the district. A fortnight later, the scale of the devastation in interior areas continues to pose a challenge to the State administration, which is engaged in relief and restoration efforts. In an interview on Sunday, Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan, who is monitoring relief operations along with Agriculture Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi and Nagapattinam Collector Suresh Kumar, said that 10,000 more electric poles needed to be replaced, and that restoring power supply in rural areas was proving to be a challenge. Excerpts:
The delta districts, particularly Nagapattinam, were plunged into darkness after the cyclone. What is the situation now?
The (State power utility) Tangedco has employed additional workers from Andhra Pradesh and brought new electric poles from the neighbouring State. Out of 30,870 fallen and slanting poles, 26,724 have been repaired and 30 damaged sub-stations restored. We have restored as much as 11,646 km of the 13,296 km of electric lines that got snapped by the wind and replaced 425 of the 592 distribution transformers. Power supply has been restored in affected municipalities of Nagapattinam, while 65% of electricity restoration work has been completed in Vedaranyam. Town panchayats like Velankanni, Keezhvelur and Thittacheri have also received power supply. The challenge is with Thalainayar town panchayat, where it [progress in power supply restoration] is 25%, and in the rural areas, where it is about 40%, as they are extensively affected areas. We have estimated that another 10,000 poles will need to be replaced due to damage and alignment issues. We do not want to set a target and rush the workers as we want to ensure that there are no untoward incidents. As many as 6,752 workers are attending to it [replacement of electric poles].
One of the major concerns is that children are unable to attend school. When will schools start functioning in a full-fledged manner?
We should keep in mind that schools are functioning as relief camps in many places. We are repairing the roofs of the schools, including those of aided schools. According to the Chief Educational Officer, 50% of the schools in Nagapattinam division have been reopened. The figure is expected to reach 75% on Monday or by Wednesday. In Mayiladuthurai division, schools are fully functional.
How are you addressing health concerns?
We have set up 2,012 health camps besides implementing programmes to control mosquitoes and flies. Around 60 chlorination teams, 65 vector control teams, 50 fly breeding control teams, 60 mobile teams and 46 ‘108’ ambulances have been pressed into service. All villages are now getting protected drinking water supply, and we have fixed 3,000 hand pumps. We are also providing psycho-social support to overcome depression. During the screening, 80% of the population was found normal and 20% required reference to health centres for further study. Our expectation is that only 3% would ultimately require counselling and treatment for psycho-social issues. The post-impact phase is the time when we are on constant alert to prevent all forms of communicable diseases.
When will fishermen be able to venture into the sea?
I had a discussion with fishermen representatives. A total of 28 fishing villages of Nagapattinam north and fishermen using mechanised boats in Pazhayar and Poompuhar resumed fishing on Sunday, 25 days after the cyclone. Another 25 villages, except eight most-affected villages in the south, may resume fishing from Monday.
