Deccan Herald article in March 1979, Bangalore. Divi Taluk: The cyclone-ravaged people smile again by Harji Malik

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Deccan Herald article in March 1979, Bangalore. Divi Taluk: The cyclone-ravaged people smile again by Harji Malik
extracted text
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D1VI TALlTEi:

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The cyclone-ravaged j ■
By Harji Malik
’TS'TELL over one year after
VV
tiie cyclone and tidal
wave transformed Divi Taluk
in Krishna
District
of
Andhra Pradesh into
a
landscape
of death ard
devastation,
nature
and
men have, together, achiev­
ed a near miracle. For today
the countryside and the
people have again come
back to life.

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Roads, empty of life, even
two monthhs after the disaster,
instant flow of people
carry a constant
....iness. And
going about their buii
the canals, the water lifeline
of this della area,, which were
.„h rotting vegestill clogged with
vege­
tation and broken trees in
Janueay, their banks covered
with a heavy deposit of ashes
for mile after
ifter mile where the
dead, human end animal, had
been burned, once ag£jain run
clear and full, the vast crema-h fresh
tion ground clothed with
vegetation.

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lousands
of tattered,
The the
’
palm fronds, killed by
withered p:
wind and; ■water, sport fresh
paddy fields,
--------green crowns, thei pa-,,
-jsolate expanerf'’”which wtrere a desolate
as blacken
ned
. . by salt and silt,
green
ien ripening inin­
if gi
are a sea of
bac„ at
-to gold. Fish
»berrmen are back
lers- are
nd fonne*"
their nets,. an
preparing for a* rich harvest.
And. yet les;is tthan a year ago.
in January, the
they had. despoiled
that the land wcrouldI not yield
for months, that with boats
ere would be
ne ther"
and nets gon<
t.. season.
no fishing ini Dm this

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How did the
. . “miracle'' hanpeu? B. Sitaram Sw'ainy, village
munsiff of Mandapakala in the
>wn way
heart of Divi. has his ov
of explaining. He lost eveinything when the tidal wave liit
his brick home on the edge
of the village, totallyf demolishing it. sweeping away all that
he possessed. When he sew the
rushing
great wall of •water
“*
an
across his Helds, Sitaram rar
-at
for his life to the Panchaym.
ly
'•pucca"
building
.ig
Garh, the only
■'ns
80 persons
in the village.. About
,
were drowned ‘there when the
water entei
entered, but he was
among- the''
those1 saved. His seven
year old son was swept out of
his arms, and he lost his wife
and both the parents.
Mandapakala had a high
death toll, 684 persons from
households. But even here,
I 534 nouseauius.
year lute-r.
later. Uihcuah Uic
; '
year

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eigne of de^struction remp-in a
village
“•nainder, the
grim -remai..«as were
shocked into apathy
;
so many otheiits, ri airive again,
ing with activity.
and humming
The CARE ’houses of palmyra
leaves; on bamboo frames, roofed witith asbestos sheets, which
came up almost immediately
relief work started, now have a
weathered 1<look.
Sitaram still lives in his tem­
porary home. In time, he plans
to build a four-rcom RCC
house on the foundations of his
old home. A year ago,
ag after he
and his brothers
>roihers had
ha. salvaged
only 50 bags. of
jf rice from
:
their
16 acres of the tidal-wave
ruinedI crop, he had no such
hopes. The normal yield
yie
is 15
to 20 bags per acre (each
<c
bag
..v land
weighs 15 kgs.) With the
of
salt
covered with a deposit
dept
impleand silt, with
fan
farm
they be
inents lost, how would
wou
able to cultivate thhis land at
all?

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?£tlfe
........

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The water tank in ZinkapMem is clean and
is carried out as the women carry

Other farmers
icrs lured bullocks
and ploughs
from more fonus fi
nate nenhours
And, somehow,
^urs. And.
all through the tidal wave and
cyclone hit areas, except in
cvclone
the worst affected parts, the
paddy was planted.

full again.

The evening ritual

home the

water.

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Sitaram expects to get his
Agricultural extension workers normal yield* from the luxu­
and a specialist from the Diva riant green fields which are his
Seema Social Service Society. promise for the future. He has
nng worn;
woman from
(DSSS) which has done fine remarried, a young
ige.
suppbed a neorby village.
Without a
work in the Divi area,
£
.....Id
i
their
advice
wife
there
would
be no one to
if ad’
the answer. With
his
three
/eiy field six look after
sons, the
Sitartun
jn leached every
eve>st parts
parts of
of eldest 14 years c..
old, or Ins
to 10, times. In most
most
■mment carDivi the State Government
car­ household. He needs help to
Cover
e
for
bis
livestock
—he lost
ried out two canal water lea­ can
. . but hopes to replace
chings,
- but- farmers augmented 10 head,
■■■■
soon
—
and
to
help
him
As
them
so<
own
this with their owm efforts. /
advised. Sitaram
;aram also used with the* farm work. Many men
imen have remamed in
••’.A*
•1. and wor
’moi
".ore fertiliser- than normal.
_’he Intensive Mamuing Schenme Krishna_i for similar reasons.
The
-rhich gives loans in the form Widows have married widowers,
whi
]
his
He
has for as Sitaram says, nothing
B. Sitaramaswamy has regainedin his smile.
_f fertiliser to fanners I"
of
reclaimed
plaved an important role; in
m can compensate for the loss of
hopes
that
after
the
harvest
i
~
human life, life must go on
agricultural rehabilitation. The
be able (o replace his temporary
land reclamation. required abc
above- fcr those who survived.
fields he 7.?.1
will L-— — - .
shelter with a new RCC house.
normal doses of. fertiliser whic
which
In some ways, life in Man­
the
v,„. hard-hit farmers would
dapakala and other
villages
not have been able to buy.
extensive road net- of the PoP^ion
.ce^ i
has changed from the pre-tidal
.
lart of the i
Ploughing posed a major wave days. The medical services part : u.unden:
medical woik u
problem for Divi
Divi farmers
farmers who
who started by volunteer
i to
inimals as
had lost animals
as well
well as
as imim- teams in this village right stiauon
plements.
Govern- after the disaster have now be- aqes ui
nls. Although the Goi
ment had
had announced
announced .a
a .pro- come a permanent featuri A {he mam
gramme
daily clinic nm by the DSSS, VjP‘^ei1.
rramme of replacing livestock
lives!
m
vajpc
lie ri
at- subsidised
rates rd
plus
com- has established another one In Pted.
pel•nsatlon as far back as Jan- the village of Kanunanamolu a v*ul
kill
away, bringing
iherae has been few kilometres
uaiiry, tills scheme
at
ow to get offI the ground and medical attention
to the v,
sloi
up) only now. But homes of the villagers, some-- roads, not even jeepable tracks. JJ^Sered how they would
is speeding
i
unless
„ the land
id was ploughed thing
thini unheard of before (Social
In time there would be no services in the Divi taluk unin
All over Divi the landscape is £ll‘?lve„ 1ot_r
zinkapalem
---1— for Sitaram
almost nil, changing, for entire villages are
sowing
Sitaram and
and his
his fortunately
fortunately are
One year later■
had
fellow’ cultivators. Again, the even now after the disaster.)
....
•
-s if the
tong
rebu.lt uuu. voc n.M.t
£ >»'«“
------■ with
—’ itimely
’—’v , Another
o icuuuu
DSSS
stepped• in
Another^ important leng-terin neui
never ton.
been. AU
All
id
ten
development
for
Mandapakala
i
^
rc
C
_,
AWWJ
struhave
been
rebuilt
in
the
uradlassistance.
It
It.
squired fprten is thp
have
organisations
tionnlbeen
cucukar
survive ’
hHiih mad unndintr ctures.
replaced
in
these by
Ktb
.jpbeedVoluntaiy
inu™
tractors for hiring out to far
­
,>k<ujtlonal (
to through the fields to Cliinta- t-... --- H in
Hlis
work
. with
um-ed
can,
mers.i. So
So Sitaram
Sitaram was
was able
i
in
this
work,
with
proved
his seed, bought with the kola, three kilometres away. A are oVSn”er. "^■'^each^e:
sow 1_.
eua^ned ^^hofuing
uacxii;.
—$
experts of
laaxui,
dr-tuxux but aa ^.ponam. the,
help of
of bank
bank —
—. to
—ttoxe.
-----ling Rs. 4,2500 for ea
: progMandapakala
there» will soon an ntemationnl renei- wnn a
-upal..
a gift ranine, the
i
be a cycldone refief*shelter,
has
rirumala Tirupftti te.w nunor . ..
from theic Thirumala
‘for nr
Divi and
Dcvosthanams.
The RCC
Some criticism has been volehoi*>e
8 “"'L^^onn/de^Ti^beJic- h
0lt;es
about the worth of such
«« cci °K of the Tata
uch ter. of[ an
ed_____
■Iters, But
But Sitaram and t11M ..put, up as pmt o’rrehabi'iiashelters,
' ^'r'' X<^v’* > z
.■ .?.□ have saved them- R.lcf Committee
others who
w basically
basically
follow
basicany
selves, or
or saw
saw others
others being
being t^ojoi programme
p
tlv s<
same
principle.
saved ini the handful of “puc- ttv
ca" buildings
in
the
delta,
will
luestkm Utheir
ls in
^on"the
not question
their usefulness.
usefulness.
----------»rs again
ano het .Xnuen worked
A chain of- such
shelters,
again
homes, helped
being constructed by ivoluntary K^e
h£d on ^ation itches and
organisations, with the> Govejm- -------ment giving Rs. 50,000 for each,
building, will run along the
entire coast. In normal times...
it
hoped that these will act ;
nnnunity centres for SiX2iftl
s-—
rvices.
The basic explanation for tne
Divi miracle is that, the econoj
mic life of the £\shlnB_^cS £iv by boat and on foot. The
oiuig volunteers did their bit
by helpibS villagers to obtain
rations and other essentials.

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sl-iry is one- of
HUch
stories.
fishing village

ihou.ifti>a

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Qne sees few

possession*is in
>' re-

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Vcnkatasuhbarao and his family. His CARE house
Life is back to normal for
is now a year old, His
I_ daughter-in-law pounds rice for specialities.

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butinR Ks. 2500 for each home. -.j international relief prog*
Tn Mnndapakala there will soon ranime, the same design, with a
be a cyclone relief shelter, a gift rj.-r
1 minor modifications, nas
from the Tlurumala Tirunari bee
•< 1 recommended for DM and
Devasthanains.
similar conditions. The RCC
and cyclone relief shel­
Some criticism has been voic­ houses
ter of an octogonal design be­
ed about the worth of such ing
up as part of the Tata
shelters, But Sitaram and r.:-cf
- put
■ Committee's
rehatiiliiaothers who have saved them- h•
tio.iK1programme follow
basically
selves, or saw others being t-,™
,
saved in the handful of “puc- Ibt same pimciple.
ca" buildings in the delta, will
Ks in Zinkapalem, Golamannot question their usefulness.
on the
A chain of such shelters, again dti another village
sv.ne
island, fishermen worked
being constructed by voluntary
organisations, with the Govem- li.j-d on. their homes, helped
up Irrigation ditches and
meat giving Rs. 50.000 for eacli, ciar
c
the water tanks. They
building, will mn
j-un along the •'build
'
wre
assisted
by -a small group
coast.
enure tv...
-In
........normal
-...........runesit
is hoped that these will act as f. young volunteer workers who
for
social
urged
them
to
stand on their
community centres for ratio.!
•wn feet and not wait for reservices.
.pf
which
was
slow to come
The bn ic exTltmation for the h these and other
fishing villDivi miracle is that the econo­ iges
which
can
be reached
mic life of the fishing and
boat and on foot. The
farming communities, whiciJ nly
- byvolunteers
did
bit
came to sudden stop last Nov- by helping villagers totheir
obtain
t IzsTic- onH
ntHar*
ct’Pri' •'• • •
i-tions^nd
other X»
essentials.
?u°ch’ Stories01 Al!dOlthe ^itl'i One
One sees
sees few
few possessions in |
,. Zinkanalem houses, for to
fishing village of Zinkapsle.a
.
0
pl.-re
all
that
was lost is not
repre-.^nt.. the experience of •- possible so soop.
The impor­
many fishinc communuics. Thi tant
thing
is
that
fishing is .
tidal wave flarened
all bui
I. jt,- i» fllU swing end the
num .Uiem
am
catch j
houses in Zitika-•alem
But
J,
cMnce whereas J wall be as good as it once was.
some tisippy i.l-LC xfonHana
.........
’- s- Just like
Knnllagos like
whQ the farmers in
vari0l)S
many village-;.
...... Mandana^ Sthe death toll was tragic-It-’ things,
housebuilding,
high, only nine lives were Kit “alter the like
harvest,” the fisher­
in Zinkapalem.
men also are waiting for the
But of the 39 bcats.». all! •' end of the season.
them non-mechanbed bee
Up lo October this year the
local ndminstration says that it
has distributed 1132 boats in
Krishna District. In Zinkapalem,
of the 36 boats lost, 30 have
been replaced so far by the
Government on the basis of
long term loans and a 50 per
cent subsidy, tin areas affected
only bv the cyclone the subsidy j
h: 25 per cent J' Boats, nets, |
equipment have all been re- I
____ _
the efforts of
placed through
the State Government and vol- ‘
unieer agencies.

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Zinkapalem village has been completely rebuilt and the paddy fields caked over with a crust of twit
only one year ago, are yielding a fine crop for this harvest.

All those who are responsible
for the rehabilitation of the
district have done a fantastic
Job. The Government. local
adminstrators, volunteer agen­
cies all share the credit, but
without the will to survive of
lumdreds of thousands of men
and women who less tlum a
year ago seemed numb with
shock, without a sense of pur­
pose or direction, having lost
not only material possessions
but also those who were of
their own blood and flesh.
Krishna District would not be
what it is today. The miracle
Qf
of TJjyj
Divi <.■
is ~a tribute rz»
to hmriRn
human
courage and endurance and
faith.
In January, two months after
the disaster, there were tragi­
cally few babes in arms in the
villages. The loss of life m
children was apalUngly rughToday that familiar and beauti­
ful sight is again taken for
granted, as gentle hands cradle
infants with the protection only
a- mother gives. This along
with the lush green of the pad­
dy. and the shimmer of fish m
nets Is the promise of the
future for the
people of
Krishna,
(Photographs by
T. S, Nagarajan)

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