Tamil Nadu limping back to normal; toll 6,238

The situation in several parts of Tamil Nadu's tsunami-hit coastal areas is limping back to normal five days after disaster struck claiming 6,238 lives.

The administration and civic authorities are now busy undertaking relief work.

On Friday, a top official put the toll at 6,238 with Nagapattinam district accounting for 4,379 deaths, closely followed by Kanyakumari (808), Cuddalore (590) and Chennai city (206). The other nine affected districts accounted for the rest. However, many are still listed as missing.

The tsunami also injured 2,730 people besides damage over 85,000 houses and huts, affecting a population of 672,000 in 396 villages and colonies.

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Meanwhile, reports reaching Chennai said several ministers were supervising relief work in the affected districts. Among other things, they were distributing rice, blankets, sarees and dhoties promised by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

In the worst-hit Nagapattinam district, an 11-member relief team, headed by Minister for Public Works Panneerselvam, had been appointed to supervise relief operations.

In Chennai, civic authorities were sprucing up the Marina Beach, which was a scene of destruction. Nearly 1,500 workers were pressed into service on Thursday and Friday to clean the beach, re-lay the roads nearby and restore snapped communication wires.

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Meanwhile, hundreds of people belonging to tsunami-hit Nochikuppam area blocked the main road disrupting traffic for nearly two hours protesting against lack of relief.

They were complaining that while officials had distributed relief materials in nearby Srinivasapuram, which was also affected, it was not being made available to them.

The dispersed after senior state government officials, including District Collector V Kannuchamy, rushed to the spot and promised to provide relief.