Tuesday, February 15 2005 20:02 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Port Blair: The Centre is working out a Rs 821.88 crore immediate relief package towards aid and restoration of infrastructure in the tsunami-ravaged Andaman and Nicobar islands, a Home Ministry official said today (Feb 15, 2005).

The package includes Rs 235.82 crore for revival of agricultural activities, Rs 100 crore for restoration of roads and bridges washed away by the killer tidal waves on December 26 last year, he said.

The package discussed at the Integrated Relief Command meeting during Home Minister Shivraj Patil's visit to Port Blair on Feb 12 also provides Rs 77 crore for restoration of power infrastructure and Rs 97.10 crore for temporary shelters proposed to be built across eight islands in the Andaman archipelago, the official said.

The Centre also plans to build helipads, provide tele-medicine facilities and set-up a wireless communication network on all inhabited islands.

The reconstruction of the island would be done in an "imaginative manner" with the Centre planning to build 20 "modern villages" on different islands, he said.

The villages would have broad roads, schools, sport and entertainment facilities besides earthquake-resistant houses to be designed by experts from the Roorkee University, which would last for another 50 years, the official added.