Wednesday, December 29 2004 22:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: The biggest relief and rehabilitation efforts after Independence, coupled with measures to prevent outbreak of epidemic, were launched today (Dec 29, 2004) on day three after the Tsunami devastation whose death count was still rising steeply to cross 60,000 in South East Asia while it breached the 10,000-mark in India.

Tamil Nadu, where mass burials and cremations had to be resorted to prevent bodies from spreading diseases, reported a death toll of over 7,000 including 500 in Pondicherry.

In the other worst affected region in the country, the Andaman and Nicobar islands, 10,000 people have been reported missing.

The toll in the other six Asian countries where the disaster struck has mounted to 60,000 with the worst hit Indonesia accounting for more than 36,000 while in Sri Lanka it was over 22,000.

The local Governments and the Centre mounted massive relief and rehabilitation efforts to provide succour to those who survived the Sunday disaster and rendered homeless and fears of epidemic forced the authorities to take up inoculation measures to prevent spread of diseases.

Describing the Tsunami destruction as a "national calamity, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today left for a two-day tour of the affected areas in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.