cuddalore online information

Two years past since tsunami waves struck. International aid poured in to all the tsunami affected parts of the world. It is Cuddalore which leads in tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation. New houses, schools, Self Help Groups and community-disaster alert systems are put in place. National disaster relief fund from various states are used thoughtfully in several other projects like building bridges in affected areas.

Two weeks back former US President Bill Clinton, who visited Cuddalore as a UN special envoy for tsunami relief, greatly applauded the active steps taken by our district administrator Mr. Gagadeep Singh Bedi. India’s over all response to the tsunami disaster work was good. But what has happened in Cuddalore in the past two years was excellent. It is because of our dynamic collector Mr. Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Cuddalore has seen such an immense reconstruction in the post disaster period. According to Clinton, providing housing was “the hardest thing to do”. He added while in other places only 30% of the houses were built, “In Cuddalore, even those not affected by the tsunami but identified as “vulnerable” had been given houses.” He went on to say “Florida can learn from Cuddalore” and that he want Cuddalore model of disaster management to be implemented throughout the world.

“Florida can learn from Cuddalore” simply means, administrators of Florida must learn from the administrator of Cuddalore. His work of coordinating and directing various governmental and non-grovernmental organisations in post tsunami period was phenomenal. If Cuddalore has got so much, it is because of this “good man here”.

When rest of the tsunami affected world is still in their early stages of tsunami reconstruction, Cuddalore had almost come to the final stages of the work, Tsunami Retention Wall for the vulnerable communities along the coast line . Work for the construction of tsunami retention wall has begun in full swing. Fishing villages in Cuddalore district will soon get rid of the fear of tsunami.

The following image links contains audio files from BBC Tamil service which reported about the Clinton’s Cuddalore visit. Please use the ‘Download’ option in the leading page. ‘Listen’ option may not work.

News headlines:

Actual news:

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, second from right, stands amidst puppets controlled by tsunami affected children at a rebuilt school at Thazanguda in Cuddalore district, around 165 kilometers (103 miles) south of Chennai, India, Friday, Dec. 1, 2006. Hundreds of villagers lined the streets of a coastal hamlet in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu Friday as Clinton, the top U.N. envoy for the tsunami recovery effort, visited homes built to replace those washed away by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The tsunami destroyed nearly 130 homes in Thazanguda, leaving many of the fishing community’s 2,600 residents homeless. (AP Photo/ M.Lakshman)

Clinton visits tsunami-hit area - BBC News

Former US President Bill Clinton has visited the region of southern India worst hit by the 2004 tsunami.

Mr Clinton, a UN special envoy for tsunami relief, visited new
homes and a school for tsunami victims in Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu state.

He also visited a cyclone shelter with a newly installed warning system and witness a mock drill.

The tsunami killed more than 6,000 people in the area and affected at least 200,000.

Mr Clinton is also due to visit Thailand and Indonesia, where the tsunami killed tens of thousands of people during his final visit to the tsunami affected areas as an UN envoy, a statement issued by his office said.

Mr Clinton had visited the region last May and met with survivors.

On Monday, the ex-US president announced to make HIV/Aids treatment cheaper for children at a function in the Indian capital, Delhi.

“I will never forget your story all my life,” he had told a tsunami survivor in the area during his last visit.

Clinton wants the Cuddalore model replicated elsewhere - The Hindu
Ramya Kannan

All praise for the town’s post-tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation effort

CUDDALORE: It was in the shade of a neem tree at the Panchayat Union Middle School in Thazhanguda, a fishing village in Cuddalore, that the future disaster management policy of the United Nations was discussed on a hot Friday morning.

Former U.S. President and United Nations Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery Bill Clinton cited the model the small town had adopted for post-tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation and wanted it to be replicated not only in other tsunami-hit areas but also the rest of the world. “I want to figure out how to make this part of the UN strategy for future disasters.”

“This is a good model for economic diversification and housing construction, not only for places devastated by natural disaster but also where poor people have substandard housing and not much economic opportunity. What is being done here, I would like to see copied throughout the world,” Mr. Clinton reiterated during his last trip to India as Special Envoy.

He lauded the speedy pace at which houses were built for each family that had lost its home while ensuring that education, water and sanitation standards were on par with the mandate he had set.

He said housing was very important and also “the hardest thing to do.” In other places, only about 30 per cent of the homes had been replaced. Even in Florida, a year after the hurricane rendered several thousands homeless, people were still living in tents. In Cuddalore, even those not affected by the tsunami but identified as “vulnerable” had been given houses.

He commended the efforts to provide alternative livelihood for those who had suffered multiple losses during the tsunami.

Mr. Clinton, who turned out in a formal blazer worn over a blue t-shirt, also dwelt on the warning system that had come up in the area. Cuddalore could be proud that it had covered the “last mile” in early warning systems and disaster preparedness.

Commending Collector Gagandeep Singh Bedi for leading the recovery and rehabilitation effort right through, he said behind the success story was an “unusual partnership - national funding and regional leadership under this good man here.” A combination of government, NGO and private contractor partnership had helped “build back better.”

In two hours, Mr. Clinton visited the house of Mayilvail, a fisherman, in the newly reconstructed shelters (by the TANFAC Janseva Trust), interacted with students of the Panchayat Union Middle School in Thazhanguda and witnessed a mock disaster-preparedness drill.

Characteristically, he broke protocol to reach out, touch and interact with the locals who had gathered in droves to see him.

Construction of permanent houses in Cuddalore leaves Clinton impressed - The Hindu
A.V. Ragunathan

These incorporate flood-proof and cyclone-proof features The district was the first in the country to implement a pilot project on early warning system

CUDDALORE: Former United States President Bill Clinton, who visited Cuddalore on Friday in his capacity as the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, was all praise for the tsunami re- construction works undertaken here.

He made a special mention about permanent houses built on a foundation of 10-13 ft, incorporating flood-proof and cyclone-proof features. What had been accomplished in Cuddalore was worthy of emulation elsewhere, Mr. Clinton said.

The tsunami had left 648 persons, including 214 children, dead in the district. A total of 2,23 houses were flattened, standing crop on 619 hectares damaged and 5,000 fishing boats destroyed. It was a daunting task for the State Government and the district administration to provide suitable accommodation and restore the livelihood of the affected.

Role model

But, within two years, Cuddalore has emerged as a role model for other tsunami-affected areas on carrying out reconstruction works. By constructing over 4,000 permanent houses, the district administration has also provided decent shelters to marginalised sections such as Irula tribals and Dalits. Collector Gagandeep Singh Bedi told The Hindu that the UNDP had commended the district administration for having built additional houses. The district was a salient example of how public-private partnership could transform a devastated coastline into an area bubbling with life.

Imbued with the motto of three Bs - “Building Back Better” - the State Government had sanctioned Rs. 158 crore for providing infrastructure in the coastal areas of Cuddalore.

Pilot project

The district was the first in the country to implement a pilot project on early warning system, in coordination with the UNDP, in 55 coastal villages. The district administration has prepared disaster management plans for all 681 villages with the most vulnerable areas earmarked through participatory rural appraisal exercises. The escape routes have been charted out and safe shelters identified to accommodate people during exigencies. Mr. Bedi said UNICEF had provided school benches, desks and bags to all students in the coastal areas. Under the Prime Minister Relief Scheme, a monthly stipend of Rs. 300 was being given to students studying from standards 1 to 10.

Clinton to visit to tsunami-affected countries - The Hindu

…Clinton’s office said on Monday, he will first travel to Cuddalore on December one to see a new housing complex constructed for fishermen whose homes were destroyed by the tsunami and a rehabilitated school. He will also visit a cyclone shelter with a newly installed early warning system and witness an early warning test and mock drill more>>

Clinton to visit India in December - NDTV

Clinton to visit tsunami affected areas in December - Zee News

Clinton to make final visit to tsunami-affected countries as U.N. envoy - International Herald Tribune

Clinton to make final visit to tsunami-affected countries as UN envoy - Garavi Gujarat