Cyclone Gaja, which swept through the state of Tamil Nadu brought back to us the ominous memories of Tsunami of 2004, still fresh in our psyche. Even several days after the ill-fated day, people struggle to restore and retain their normal life. Thousands of homes have been devastated and destroyed. Electric poles and trees litter the rain-swept streets in the coastal and delta districts of Tamil Nadu.
This deadliest cyclone Gaja has taken away the lives of 45 people, uprooted over 170,000 trees and about 117,000 houses are damaged. Tamil Nadu government has estimated the number of people rendered homeless to be 3.7 lakh, and houses destroyed at 3.4 lakh. 12,000 electric poles, 102 sub power stations, 495 power conductors, 100 transformers, 500 kilometer-long power lines have been damaged.
Paddy crops, coconut farms and banana plantations are badly ruined by this cyclone. Due to the fail of electricity people struggled to get drinking water and other basic livelihoods. They are also mentally affected since their stable income has completely fallen suddenly.
Listening to the cry of the farmers and eye witnessing the shattered life of the poor people the sisters from the province of Trichy, went to Kakkarakottai to console the people and to give them material help. From all the institutions of our Province fund and material things were collected from the Staff and the students and given in many interior villages like Vadacherry, keeelakalani, Melakalani, Neduvasal, Veeradipatti, Andankarai and the surroundings of Pudukkottai.
People were provided with rice bags, ingredients, food items, mats, solar lights, clothes, sanitary napkins, water packets, machine to cut the trees and the facility to charge their mobiles and batteries from our vehicles.
Our sisters in Viralimalai, Oliyamanagalam and Manikandam have bravely faced many hardships and deprivations due to the cyclone Gaja. We never witnessed such horrendous cyclone at plains in the recent past. We are still working to set the place right. The trees in our school grounds and farm have been washed away. The mid-day meals building was damaged and the stocks, used to provide food for the poor children, got wasted by the downpour.
The sisters from the provinces of Trichy and Madurai promptly reached out to the affected areas of Tamilnadu. Ever after this event our sisters from the Communities and Institutions keep moving with relief materials to various places affected by this cyclone.
Community at Oliyamangalam
Viralimalai
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