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28
June 2006
The word tsunami brings to mind pictures
of nature's fury and the aftermath —
grief, homelessness and hopelessness. Immediately
after the tragedy struck, Mrs Neerja Birla
rushed help to the victims in Thanzhanguda,
in Tamil Nadu, by arranging for rations,
repair of battered boats and providing new
fishing boats so that people could pursue
their livelihood. The Aditya Birla Group
also made a commitment to resettle the villagers
on a permanent basis.
In
the ensuing months, the Group partnered
with the government, the Rotary Club of
Mumbai, Habitat for Humanity and Mehta Charities
to build houses for the displaced families.
The work was completed by mid-May 2006.
On 31 May 2006, Mrs. Rajashree Birla, Chairperson
of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community
Initiatives and Rural Development, presented
a symbolic key to the 119 quakeproof, concrete
structures to the Collector, Mr. Gagandeep
Singh Bedi. Members of the village panchayat
and senior persons from the Group —
Mr. K K Maheshwari, Dr Pragnya Ram, Mr M
H Upadhyaya, Mr V T Moorthy — and,
of course, all the beneficiaries were present
on the occasion. Mrs Birla cut the ribbon,
lit the ceremonial lamp, turned on a public
tap and planted a sapling to mark the event.
Here
is what she had to say on the occasion:
"Shri
Gagandeep Singh Bedi, government officials,
members of the village panchayat, our co-sponsors
— Habitat for Humanity, India, Rotarians,
brothers and sisters.
"The
tsunami has been one of the worst disasters
in our country. It took every one by surprise,
claiming more than 6500 lives on the country's
south-eastern coast. Tamil Nadu has been
one of the most affected areas. Pondicherry
has suffered the brunt where more than 350
people have lost their lives, many their
livelihoods and their peace of mind.
"I
am sure, most of you have lived through
this nightmare. Even as we empathise fully
with you, your resilience, equanimity and
fortitude in the face of such a crisis and
your determination to carry on in as positive
a manner as possible have been extremely
commendable. While we fully share your pain
and understand the trauma that you have
gone through, we must commend you for the
fine example you have all set for our country
and for all of us present here. Many of
you gathered here would have reached out
to save the lives of your brothers and sisters
who were being dragged by the waves. We
salute your selflessness. At the same time,
we would like to express our heartfelt sympathy
to those families who have lost a loved
one to the tsunami.
"The
government's work in grappling with the
enormity of the tsunami disaster and doing
their best to rescue people, to provide
them with a roof over their head and their
basic amenities, must have helped enormously.
"Even
though we live far away, my family —
Kumar Mangalam, Neerja and I — felt
very miserable on hearing about this tragedy.
In our own small way we tried to help out
in Cuddalore, where our company TANFAC is
located. Our team, led by Mr. Maheshwari
and Mr. Upadhyaya, participated in the relief
work to help rehabilitate the people.
"Apart
from immediate relief in terms of looking
after the essential needs of the people
of Thazhanguda, we felt that the most lasting
contribution would be to provide a solid
roof over their head. We therefore decided
to opt for constructing houses in this village,
given that so many people were rendered
homeless. We have been very fortunate that
the District Collector, Shri Bedi, has been
extremely supportive, allocating this village
to construct 119 permanent houses.
"Habitat
for Humanity, a global organisation committed
to building houses for the poor and who
have been our partners in constructing 100
houses in Renukoot, in Uttar Pradesh, were
more than willing to team up with us in
this project. We truly appreciate their
involvement. The Rotary Club of Bombay Seaface
also wanted to help out and was looking
for a reliable group that would ensure that
the money they spent would go in the right
direction. They too teamed up with us.
"These
119 houses that have been constructed, I
believe, have been built from the finest
material, are tsunami and earthquake-proof.
They have been built at a project cost of
Rs 3 crore. Of this, the government has
provided for the land which has been valued
at Rs 23 lakh, our Group has contributed
Rs 115 lakh, in addition to Rs 30 lakh for
immediate relief. Habitat for Humanity has
been a committed and generous partner with
a contribution of Rs 120 lakh, while the
Rotary Club and Mehta Charities collectively
pooled in Rs 25 lakh.
"Apart
from the financials, both Habitat and our
team at TANFAC have invested time and expertise
in raising these houses. This beautiful
housing complex, which you can see from
here, is the outcome of the genuine commitment,
affection and respect that all of us have
for you.
"Our
prayers are that your new houses bring you
a lot of peace, prosperity and happiness.
While I will present the key to Shri Bedi
as a symbol of our handing over these houses,
the government will allocate them.
"I
would also like to take this opportunity
to request all of you, the new inhabitants
of these houses, to maintain them as a model
village, always clean, green and happy.
As perhaps many of you may be aware, our
TANFAC Jan Seva Trust does a lot of meaningful
work for the underserved sections of society.
Among this, perhaps one project that can
be equally applied in this village is the
setting up of self help groups led by enterprising
young women. We could team up with the village
women and train them in Tanjore painting,
tailoring, candle making and in other arts,
which would help them contribute significantly
to their household income. I also believe
that it is very important for all of you
to educate your children. While the state
provides significant opportunities for the
same, with the additional income that will
flow from self help groups, you could have
a better quality of life. Please do give
this a thought and we would be happy to
take it further.
"Once
again, I wish you all every happiness and
may the Goddesses Saraswati and Laxmi grace
your homes. "
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