KANYAKUMARI REHABILITATION

KANYAKUMARI REHABILITATION RESOURCE CENTRE
113 A, Trowell Street, Nagercoil – 629 001, Tamil nadu, India, Ph: 04652 571517, Email: krrc2005@rediffmail.com
Page 2
Housing problems….
The common problems encountered by people living in
temporary shelters include broken walls that hinder their
privacy and lead to insecurity. The improper garbage
wastes management and water logging have resulted in
the blocking of drainage in the area. Another pitiable
state is because of the unsafe doors that allow the entry
of cats, dogs and crows to take away the food or damage
other articles. These are common problems experienced
by the inmates of temporary
shelters
of
Keezhamankkkudi
and
Azhikkal.
Keezhamankkudi village is
one of the most affected
villages in terms of human and material loss, but
permanent housing project remains a distant dream for
the people. The housing work started here ahead of other
areas got delayed due to various factors.
In Azhikkal, the agency / NGO involved in housing
could not come to a compromise because the demands of
the people are beyond the policy of the NGO on
housing. Some of the demands of the people are wooden
doors in place of hard nuwood/plywood ones, granite
floors in place of cement and wooden frames instead of
iron/steel bars.
ECO-SANITATION
Conventional on-site sanitation system remains a serious
threat to safe ground water in the present world. Mr.
Arno Rosmarin, who is the communication director of
the Stockholm Environmental Institute, Sweden said,
“Ecosan was a viable sanitary alternative for people in
urban slums and rural areas”. According to him, 50% of
people who defecate in the open could benefit from
Ecosan toilets.
Some of the important features of Ecosan toilet systems
are given below:
™
Ecological sanitation segregates urine and faecal
matter separately. It protects the groundwater
from faecal pollution. It prevents nitrate
contamination in the ground water. This type of
toilet is best of use in water logging, water-
scarce and rocky areas.
™
Ecosan toilets save water. The conventional
toilet requires 10 to 12 liters of water but the
Eco friendly toilet needs 2 to 3 liters of water for
one use. Thus an individual is able to save 7,
000 liters of water per year.
™
The human excreta are converted into fertilizer
after 6 months in Ecosan toilets. So it provides
valuable fertilizer
and helps to
improve coastal
vegetation
and
shelterbelts.
It
also
protects
coastal environment against coastal erosion,
cyclones and tsunamis.
™
Ecosan toilets help to improve public and
environmental hygiene and promote health by
preventing communicable diseases.
™
Ecosan toilets are economically cheaper than
conventional toilets. This toilet does not require
a separate septic tank or soak pit. It is also
plumbing free and reduces maintenance cost by
great margin. Each house holder can remove the
human waste with out any machines. So
cleaning of toilets can be managed by the
beneficiaries themselves.
Page 3
Conventional sanitations may affect the drinking water
during the flood and other natural calamities. During the
last flood in Kerala, the areas covered by the
conventional toilets affected the ground water to a large
extent. But the areas with Ecosan, implemented by Eco-
Solutions with the help of UNICEF and UNDP had
sustained to give good drinking water. Response to this
programe, now introduced in Tsunami affected areas of
Cuddalore is good. This can be a viable alternative to the
sanitation problems prevailing in the coastal region of
Kanyakumari district too. The Government of India is
also in favor of Eco friendly sanitation and promotes this
method through their programmes. The role of the NGO
is to create awareness among the people regarding the
importance of Ecosan toilets and encourage constructing
eco friendly toilets in their houses.
Reference:
¾
“Suggestions for Sustainable Sanitation in
Tsunami hit regions in South India”, Report on
behalf of CARITAS GERMANY.
¾
“Sangamam”, TNTRC.
¾
“Eco-Sanitation”, BLESS.
T. Thangaraj KRRC
Activities Carried Out By KRRC
A Monograph on Coastal Women
A research monograph on coastal women of
Kanyakumari district was written by Kalpana Ram
Department of Anthropology, Macquarie University,
Australia published in 1992. Based on her ethnographic
fieldwork conducted during the 80s, she went on to
analyze how coastal villages in Kanyakumari district
have been shaped by distinctive elements: a distinct
Christian form, the work of fishing, and an unusual
sexual division of labour.
In addition, this book records a changing mode of
fishing and geographical as well as cultural details of
Kanyakumari district. The main object of study was to
uncover the gender difference and capitalist expansion
and, religious practices; the book also contains finer
details about the culture of
the people and geographical
details of this region.
Mukkuvar Women: Gender,
Hegemony and Capitalist
Transformation in a South
Indian Fishing Community.
Premier volume in Women in Asia Series, published on behalf
of the Asian Studies Association of Australia, by Allen and
Unwin; Zed Press, and by Kali Press for Women, New Delhi
(1992)
Please send your views and news to:
Krrc2005@rediffmail.com / krrc2005@hotmail.com
Also visit our website: www.krrc.in
Date
Event
Venue
Partici
pants
21.03.06
VLC
keezhamanaku
dy
Anbu Illam,
Keezhamankudy
26
23.03.06
VLC- Azhikal
Community hall,
Azhikal
260
24.03.06
VLC
Kadiapattinam
Community hall,
Kadiapattinam
36
25.03.06
VLC Kovalam
Thozhamai Illam,
Kovalam
43
27.03.06
VLC Pallam
Parish house,
Pallam
11
29.03.06
Workshop on
Issues related
to Children
Hotel Vijeyetha,
Nagerc