[Reader-list] Identity loss in a post-tsunami village

[Aman Sethi]

Dear All,
this report is part of larger, hopefully more indepth study of identity loss in Sreenivasapuram - a fishing village on the marina beach in chennai.  for this particular article, we focussed solely on ration cards.  i hope to expand it further and include voter id cards and death certificates.
Regards
Aman Sethi,  


Chennai, February 9: “I cannot remember the last time I had a proper meal,” says B. Manjula, a resident of tsunami-hit Sreenivasapuram.  Her 8-month old baby fidgets disconsolately as Manjula describes how the tsunami swept away everything she owned.  Along with clothes, utensils, tape recorders and money, Manjula lost the one thing that would prove to be invaluable in providing her immediate help and long-term assistance –ration card number 02/6G/0024597.  

As relief efforts lose momentum in fishing villages like Sreenivasapuram, the public distribution system is turning out to be the most reliable source of food and fuel for residents; a source that is out of bounds for people like Manjula who have lost their ration cards.  To make matters worse, many private aid organisations also insist that residents show their ration cards; both as a means of identification and to avoid duplication of aid efforts.  Without her card, Manjula is ineligible for both – governmental assistance and private interventions.  She has applied for a duplicate card, but it has been one month now and the card is yet to arrive.  In the meantime, she is fast running out of money and hope.

While the loss of clothes, shelter and possessions has been extensively documented by the media, the government and the non government organisations (NGOs), the loss of documentation and identity has been largely ignored.  The ration card is the cornerstone of most household budgets, and in its absence, fisherman families are finding it impossible to make ends meet.  “I used to buy rations for an entire month at a time,” says R. Raman (ration card number – 02/Y/399774), a fisherman from Sreenivasapuram, “but without a ration card, I am forced to buy provisions at exorbitant prices in the open market.”  His wife, Dhanalaxmi estimates that their expenditure on food has almost doubled after the tsunami washed away their ration card.  “Earlier, I used to spend about Rs 300 per month on rations, but now even Rs 600 is not enough to feed ourselves.”  They have applied for a duplicate card as well, but are yet to receive any official reply.

R. Govindarajan, Chief Bill Clerk of the ration shop in Sreenivasapuram, says that at least 60 people have applied for new cards, but estimates that the actual number of lost cards stands at about 100.  “A lot of people have left the village after the tsunami and so will apply for their cards in their new place of residence,” he explains.  Govindarajan knows most of the villagers personally, and so provides them with a slip that states the ration card number stored in his files, the date of the last purchase and the name and address of the card holder.  This slip is then to be submitted at the Mylapore Triplicane Taluk and a new card is issued as soon as the verification process is complete.  But the process is far from efficient.  According to applicants, the clerks at the taluk office are unhelpful and intimidating.  “Every time I go to meet the clerk, he tells me to come back in 10 days,” complains M. Sudhakaran, another fisherman at the village, “I don’t think I shall ever get my card.”  Tahsildar and Executive Magistrate - Mylapore Triplicane Taluk, M. Thangaraj refuses to comment on the issue.  “We do not give out any information,” he says, “We have not received any complaints, let those affected come and talk to me.”  Assistant Commissioner- Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, A. Rajaratnam, is more forthcoming.  “We realise there is a problem, but we are working on it.  .  In the meantime we have ordered temporary ration cards that shall be valid till July.  We have also issued 18,000 cards for the state and are in the process of distributing them. The process shall take 1 or 2 months, but fair price shops have been asked to continue supplies.”

But the fact remains that fair price shops are not continuing supplies, and the temporary cards have not been issued.  Forty five days have passed since B. Manjula lost her ration card.  She is not sure if she can survive another 30 days.

Aman Sethi and Malar Vizhi
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