Friday, January 14 2005 13:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Cuddalore: The families of the people still missing after the tsunami struck can now get some solace with the district administration deciding to issue the ex-gratia payment of Rs one lakh to the next of kin soon after Pongal.

"We have decided to put aside the normal procedure of waiting for seven years after a person goes missing to declare him dead," District Collector Gagandeep Singh Bedi told sources in Cuddalore.

"For extraordinary circumstances as this, we have decided to act on the Government order and issue the compensation amount of Rs one lakh each to the next of kin of the missing persons soon after Pongal," he said.

Around 48 people are still missing in the district, whose families have lodged First Information Reports (FIRs) at the local police stations. The State Government, which has doled out Rs one lakh each for the 615 persons killed by the December 26 tidal waves has decided to waiver the waiting period to confirm the death of a person missing.

In an attempt to simplify formalities as much as possible, the family, Bedi said, can claim the amount by producing a copy of the FIR and a clearance certificate from the Revenue Department. No identification of the person concerned is necessary, he said.