Rehabilitation work for the Tribals of Andaman and Nicobar Islands will have to be taken up on a war footing now since it has to be completed before the onset of monsoons. This was stated by Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri P R Kyndiah in his briefing to the newspersons at Port Blair after his visit to Car Nicobar, Campbell Bay, Sentinel Island and Indira Point.
He said the tribals now fear the sea and have requested the government to rehabilitate them at higher altitudes. Considering the seismic activity in the zone, the reconstruction effort will have to focus on building tremor proof structures, and has to involve the tribal people themselves in the rehabilitation work, he added.
On his meeting with the chiefs of various tribes in Campbell Bay, Shri
Kyndiah said he has received no serious complaint from any of the tribal groups, but felt that some of them have developed a deep sense of fear for the sea. On the continuing search operations, he said that one can not presume that all those missing after the December 26 tsunami are dead because "miracles do happen."
Meanwhile, tribals from three islands in Andaman and Nicobar are being evacuated to higher grounds, he said. Altogether 422 tribals of Little Nicobar, Pillomilo and Kundul had been shifted to relief camps in Campbell Bay, and 1230 tribals from Bambuka, Chawra and Trinkat had earlier been evacuated to Teressa.
AD/SK
(Release ID :6496)