Irula tribe in an Interview with Dr. M.S. Swaminathan: Towards sustainable rehabilitation

Interview with Dr. M.S. Swaminathan

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman, National Commission on Farmers, and Chairman of the national committee set up to review the implementation of the Coastal Zone Regulation Act, spoke to Asha Krishnakmar on the various aspects of rehabilitation and restoration.

Excerpts from the interview
What is your assessment of the relief efforts for the tsunami-affected?
The immediate phase of surprise and shock is over. The damage was handled with an enormous magnitude of relief operations. Thanks to modern information and communications technology – television, newspapers and so on – people from all walks of life rushed to provide help. One cannot compensate for lost lives, but property and livelihood loss can be restored to a considerable extent. […]

“At Killai, a small village near Pichavaram, about 98 km north of Nagappattinam. The mangroves in the Pichavaram wetland stood as a solid buffer, saving the Irula tribe and about a dozen fishing hamlets from the tsunami.”

Source: Towards sustainable rehabilitation
Frontline: India’s National Magazine from the publishers of THE HINDU
Volume 22 – Issue 04, Feb. 12 – 25, 2005
Address : <http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2204/stories/20050225002504000.htm>
Date Visited: Thu Jul 07 2011 13:13:18 GMT+0200 (CEST)

[Bold typeface added above for emphasis]

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