Wednesday, May 4 2005 07:53 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The World Bank has released a $ 465 million loan to India for reconstruction and recovery efforts in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, the areas that were particularly hard-hit by the December 26 Asian tsunami.

The help for India comes from the World Bank's soft loan arm, the International Development Association. This is part of total Bank support of $ 528.5 million for tsunami recovery operations in India, a statement said in Washington yesterday (May 3, 2005).

The Emergency Tsunami Reconstruction Project is expected to help repair or reconstruct about 140,000 damaged houses in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry and will assist with the reconstruction of public buildings, revival of livelihoods in fisheries and agriculture, as well as with capacity building in housing reconstruction and coastal management.

More importantly, the project takes into account the Government's commitment not to rebuild vulnerabilities.

"No amount of money or assistance can make up for the devastation caused by the tsunami in terms of lost lives and the social and economic impact particularly to the poor," World Bank's Country Director for India Michael Carter said.

"The Bank is working closely with the Government of India and other development partners to put in place mechanisms, such as this project to look forward at all aspects of development to ensure that vulnerabilities are not rebuilt."