Dear All

After having been in Nagapattinam for the last two weeks, the direction which our relief and rehabilitation related work needs to take has increasing clarity. The following points can be made:

1) Relief material is pouring in in large measures and by and large these are being effectively directed to affect fishing communities.

2) There are plans for rehabilitation which include NGO's 'adopting' villages and plans on how to replace equipment/boats destroyed in the tsunami by both NGO's and Government.

3) What is completely absent in both NGO and Government efforts is an clear policy conceptualizaton of Dalit communities as affected communities and efforts to focus on both supply of relief and rehabilitation efforts.

4) THus while on one end one is talking of rehabilitation in terms of boats etc ,with respect to many Dalit hamlets even basic relief has not reached.

5) Strong efforts are now being made to both pressurize the state to deliver the relief as well as set up alternative supply lines in cases where the state has not succeeded.

6) As a part of the alternative supply lines we have identified 400 families who are in dire need and live in various dalit hamlets and whom we would like to supply the following material  for which your support is sought.

The break up of material urgently wanted and costs are as below:

Rice 18000 Kg at Rs 15 a kg       2'70,000

Dal  1200 kg at  Rs 30                 36000

Cooking oil 400 kg at Rs 55 a kg    22000

Chilli Powder 200 kg at Rs 20         4000

Turmeric Powder 200 kg at 15       3000

Cooking vessels  800 at 60 a vessel    48000

Kadais 400  at Rs 60 a kadai           24000

mats 800 at  Rs 40 a mat              32000

Buckets 400 at Rs 30 a bucket        12000

Bedsheets 400 at Rs 100 a sheet     40000

Serving Spoons  800 at Rs 20           16000

Soap  800 at Rs 15                          12000

Tumblers   1600 at Rs 20                 32000

cooking stoves 400 at 500             2,00,000

Total cost estimated                     7,51,000

IF donations can be made either in kind or cash it would be much appreciated. Please do get back for any further clarifications.  You can also call Uvaraj at 9448371389 or Arvind/Aarti at 22865757 or email, alforum@vsnl.net

in solidarity

Niruj, Clifton, Deepu, Uvaraj , Arvind