Wednesday, December 21 2005 17:04 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Devanampattinam (TN): Once in the limelight after being adopted by film star Vivek Oberoi for post-tsunami rehabilitation, Devanampattinam - a tiny fishing hamlet in Cuddalore district - is now the living symbol of how survivors have been handed down a raw deal in a clash of egos between the government and an NGO.

Nearly a year after surviving the immense destruction brought out by the December 26 disaster, scores of fisher folk here are still huddled in rows of temporary shacks staring helplessly at their leaking thatched roofs, as rains pound down heavily over their heads.

These browbeaten fisher folk, who saw a glimmer of hope when Oberoi adopted the village and launched his housing programme, now find themselves a victims of the war of words between the star and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on the question of who deserved credit for tsunami rehabilitation.

Jayalalithaa had accused Oberoi of overstating his tsunami relief work under the name of 'Project Hope' to gain publicity and accused the actor of deriving 'maximum publicity' for doing 'nothing tangible'.

What was Devanampattinam's loss turned out to be Pondicherry's gain as the actor moved his housing project to the neighboring Union Territory, where he recently finished reconstruction of around 100 dwellings. Oberoi had cited 'land ownership hitches' and 'red tapism' in Tamil Nadu as the reason for his decision.

In Cuddalore district, which witnessed around 500 deaths in the tsunami, the state government's initial promises of shifting the tsunami-affected to permanent shelters before the onset of rains have now been proved hollow as only less than half of the required 643 pucca houses required have been completed.

Leaking roofs, water-logged surroundings and children falling ill frequently are the main problems faced by survivors housed in shelters as they look forward with hope to the day they would be able to move in to proper dwellings.

"When that lad (Oberoi) came here and built around 90 makeshift huts immediately after the tsunami, we were all so hopeful. We thought the day is not far when we will get proper houses. But even after a year, just see for yourself in what plight we all are," says Ramaiyyan, a resident of the village.

"People had come here with tall promises will do this, will do that etc. But all of them have now vanished, leaving us to fend for ourselves," says Parthasarathy, a fisherman.

Majority of the nearly 300 houses constructed in the district are located at Pudukuppam and Puduppettai villages and most of them have been built by the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, which completed the work much before the onset of rains.

"The rain has seriously hampered the construction of permanent shelters," admits Cuddalore District Collector Gagandep Singh Bedi. "However, we are racing against time to get it completed at least by Pongal (which falls in the middle of January)," he said.

However, survivors are not at all convinced by the administration's assurances.

"They first said we will be moved in to permanent houses before the onset of monsoons (October-November), then they extended it to December 26 (the first anniversary of the tsunami) and now they say Pongal. Are we a ll being taken for a ride?" asks an agitated seafarer Mayyalakan.

"We are faced with severe water logging in our surroundings when it rains. Mosquitoes make our nights miserable and our kids are falling sick day by day. How long will we have to bear this ordeal? First we were punished by tsunami, now we are made to suffer by the administration," he says.