When the tsunami struck in 2004, a 35-year-old Gagandeep Singh Bedi was district collector of Cuddalore, about 200 kms from the state capital Chennai and one of the worst tsunami hit districts in Tamil Nadu, with a death toll of 648.
Now Additional Chief Secretary to the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, Bedi tells Nirupama Viswanathan about the difficult decisions that needed to be taken during the disaster and long-term rehabilitation processes that were taken up in Cuddalore, where he served as collector till 2007.
After visiting the district during rehabilitation in 2006, former US president Bill Clinton praised Bedi for his ‘vigorous regional leadership’ and said that the rehabilitation measures here should be replicated around the world. However, for Bedi himself, the most gratifying part of his work there was being able to construct around 5,000 houses for affected families in the years that followed. He is credited with redefining the criteria of ‘affected families’ so as to also enable Irular and scheduled caste communities to receive new houses even if there were no reported damages to their huts.
Excerpts:
Q: What was your experience on the day the disaster struck?
I was at a conference in Mahabalipuram following which my family and I were staying at the seaside TTDC (Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation) cottages there because it was a holiday. I was first alerted about the waves by a leader from the fishing community. Within minutes of speaking to him, the sea entered our rooms. There was a minute there where I really thought I would be washed away but my then office assistant and I picked up my two daughters (aged two years and seven months respectively) and walked across to a bund near a swimming pool. I left my children there, with Kumar Jayant IAS, who was also there for the conference, and went to look for my wife (Dr Jaideep Bedi) who had gone for a walk. I found her on top of a parapet wall of a building, trying to rescue two adolescent girls who were being washed away. I realised that it was a state-wide phenomenon and that I had to rush back to Cuddalore. With my family in tow, we immediately left Mahabalipuram and took the Tindivanam route to Cuddalore. I don’t leave my house without my turban but I remember I was in my ‘half turban’ and I had to get dressed in the car.
Q: What was your first response, once you got to Cuddalore?
During disasters, the first 24 hours are considered extremely crucial. Since I had time to think while I was travelling, I already made important phone calls, the first of which was to the joint director (of rural health services) and the sub collectors. I asked them to coordinate ambulances in order to rush people into the hospitals. I asked them to vacate wards which had decent natural cooling to store the bodies. Next, I called up the Neyveli Lignite Corporation and asked them to provide 10,000 food packets twice a day for the next several days. I then told revenue officials to free up marriage halls. By the time I reached the government hospital in Cuddalore, there were already 200 bodies. We then had a discussion with local leaders, asking if they would want the bodies to be buried or cremated. They, including Hindus, agreed that we could go ahead with burial. From 9 am on December 26 to 5 am the next day, we were on the field, personally overseeing mass burials. Identification of bodies was another immense challenge. In Parangipettai, I remember the bodies had to be stored at the block office. Over the next three days, we accommodated people in community halls, monitored supply of food and water and arranged for decentralised cooking.
Q: What were the long-term measures that had to be undertaken?
From December 2004 to 2006, every Monday, we had coordination meetings to review the status of permanent houses that were being constructed for affected families. The government would identify and provide land while NGOs would construct houses. The criteria, during that time, was to construct houses for ‘affected families’. I, however, thought that while the fishing community received good houses, it was also important for the Irular and scheduled caste communities to receive new habitations even if their huts had not been fully damaged. I told them that when you say ‘affected’, it did not only mean loss of houses; people were dealing with various types and degrees of losses, including the loss of livelihoods.
Q: How did the experience change you as a person and an administrator?
I’m an engineer. Some of my college batchmates now hold senior positions, earning so much more than me. But I chose this path because of my passion for wanting to do something for the society. I myself believed I was on the verge of being swallowed by the sea. Then, handling the disaster, taught me to be empathetic to the travails of the people. Soon after the tsunami, in 2005, a large part of Cuddalore was under water in the floods and I remember traveling from Cuddalore to Chidambaram by boat. Working in these situations has helped build my resilience. I’m thankful for the opportunity to contribute to rebuilding lives and livelihoods. These are the times that remind me why I’m here doing what I do.