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Deputy Collector (R&R)
Room No. 116,First Floor
Collector's Office
Nagapattinam 611003
Phone: [04365]-251992


Tourism Plays a Key Economy for the District even though Agriculture and Fishing are the Major ones. Shrines, Places of Hindu Faith, Mosques forms the Spritual Tourism for the district. Annual Festivals and functions marks glory of the Year. Heritages like Tarangam padi Fort, Poompuhar speaks of the rich civilization of this land.

One of the major economies of the District, Agriculture contributes a higher share of Rice Production in the State. We have raised so many important agricultural crop in our District. Rice, Groundnut, Pulses, Gingelly, Sugarcane and Cotton.

Tsunami Relief & Rehabilitation

TSUNAMI, AN UNKNOWN DISASTER

As India and the world recover from the catastrophic loss of humanity due to the tsunami on 26th December 2004, Nagapattinam which was the worst affected district in India with 6065 confirmed deaths has witnessed non-stop activity in the past one year. During this period what stood out was the constant resolve shown by the people to learn from nature’s lessons and the resilience of the people and the Government to develop communities which are not only resilient but also which strive for a safer world. Simultaneously the focus has been on not only restoring what was lost but also aiming to change lives for the better as the rehabilitation process moves forward.

In recent times, the district of Nagapattinam has been carved out as a separate district due to the bifurcation of the erstwhile Thanjavur district on 18th October, 1991. It has 4 Municipalities, 9 Special Panchayats, 2 Revenue Divisions, 7 Taluks and 523 Revenue Villages. The district lies on the east coast to the south of Cuddalore district and another part of the Nagapattinam district lies to the south of Karaikal and Tiruvarur districts. Most part of the district is flat plain, slopping very gently to the sea on the east. The total geographical area of the district is about 3536.38 sq. km. The district has a 187.9 km long coastline stretching from Kodiyampalayam in the North to Kodiyakarai in the South which constitutes about 15 percent of the coastline of Tamilnadu.
Land history

Nagapattinam is a unique district with all its historical and cultural significance. Nagapattinam was one of the constituents of the Chola Mandalam, acclaimed as the most prominent among the ancient Tamil Kingdoms. Its salient features more than anything else have contributed to the glory of the Chola Mandalam. Nagapattinam has a history of over two millennia to its credit. Today Nagapattinam remains the headquarters of the Nagapattinam District. Even in its history the submergence of the Chola port of Poompuhar raises speculations whether Nagapattinam had an earlier tryst with the devastating tsunami.

The district has a population of about 1.5 million and boasts of multi-religious faith centres such as ‘Our Lady of Health Shrine’ in Velankanni, the Dargah at Nagore and the Navagraha Temples (four of the nine temples are found in this district). The historic town of Kaveripoompattinam (also known as Poompuhar) and Tharangambadi (formerly known as Tranquebar and a Dutch colony) located in this district continue to thrive despite facing natural disasters.

The district has unique features including the Vedaranyam salt swamp, which is the largest swamp in Tamilnadu, running along the coast from Point Calimere westwards to Muthupet. Consequently extensive lagoons have been formed in these areas. Another important feature of the district is the Cauvery River which flows into the sea after spreading into numerous distributaries. The coastline has a number of harbours of which mention may be made of Nagapattinam, Pazhaiyar, Nagore and Point Calimere. The significant small ports are Thirumullaivasal, Nagapattinam, Velankanni and Thopputhurai. Nagapattinam district is located almost at the mid point of the Tamil Nadu coast and projects like a nose into the Bay of Bengal. Ironically it was this part which bore the brunt of the tsunami devastation. The history of Nagapattinam is replete with disasters. The following table presents an overview of devastative disasters in the past five decades.

History of natural disasters in the past five decades

As is evident from the above table, Nagapattinam is a multi-hazard prone district with heavy winds, cyclones, floods being a regular feature. It has varied experience in handling these disasters but what happened on 26th December, 2004 was something beyond expectations.

The Black Sunday

An earthquake of severe intensity with a reported magnitude of 9.0 on the Ritcher scale at 6.29 AM on 26.12.2004 with its epicenter off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia triggered giant tidal waves hitting as many as 14 countries across Asia and beyond. These giant tidal waves later identified as Tsunami (meaning harbour waves) hit the Indian coastline including Tamilnadu, which was the most affected state in India.

In Tamil Nadu, the coastline is 1076 km long, which is twelve percent of entire Indian coastline and has 13 coastal districts. All these districts were affected due to the Tsunami. Due to its long coastline and peculiar location, Nagapattinam district was the worst affected district. Multiple waves hit the district – direct as well as those deflected from the Sri Lankan landmass. The disaster was unknown to the Indian sub continent till then.
Scale of damage

The tsunami left around 6065 people dead and the entire coastline devastated in the district. Around 73 habitations in 38 Revenue Villages and 5 Taluks were affected. Out of these, 1776 were children (887 male, 889 females) which is approximately

one-third of the total dead and 2406 were women. The high death toll of children and women highlighted the fact that Tsunami had caught people unawares. A possible explanation for the high number of deaths among women was that the tsunami struck at a time when most of them were in the shore receiving their men folk returning from the sea. Added to this was the fact that it was a day after the Christmas and a Sunday morning, which had a large number of people, enjoying the morning breeze. Nagapattinam district alone accounted for 76 percent of the deaths of entire state and was the worst affected district in India. In the education front, 41 Elementary/Primary Schools, 2 High Schools and 1 Higher Secondary School were damaged. On the health side 4 Public Health Centres (PHCs) and one Government Hospital was damaged.

History of natural disasters in the past five decades
Date of occurrence Calamity Damages caused
30.11.1952 Storm surge in land upto 5 miles 400 lives
08.12.1967 Cyclone 7 lives lost and 15,000 rendered homeless
12.11.1977 Cyclone 560 lives lost and 196 missing. Damages to port, irrigation systems, road, power supply and communication including large number of houses
01.12.1984 Floods due to heavy rain Crops damaged in large scale and normal life affected due to heavy floods
15.11.1991 Heavy rainfall Crops damaged
04.12.1993 Cyclone speed 188 kmph 1100 people lost their lives, severe damage to crops
29.10.2004 / Nov 2004 Floods due to heavy rain Crops damaged, around 12,000 houses damaged
26.12.2004 Tsunami (Indian Ocean) 6065 dead and 1922 injured. 12,821 cattle lost, large number of houses, boats and infrastructure damaged

As is evident from the above table, Nagapattinam is a multi-hazard prone district with heavy winds, cyclones, floods being a regular feature. It has varied experience in handling these disasters but what happened on 26th December, 2004 was something beyond expectations.

Total Area 2.7 lakh hectares
Total Population 14.88 lakhs
Urban Population 3.3 lakhs
Rural Population 11.58 lakhs
Affected Population 1.96 lakhs
Fishermen 87 %
Agricultural Laborers 5 %
Traders 5%
Tourists/Pilgrims 3 %
Construction of permanent houses
  1. Of 19,736 houses, the construction of 19,019 have been completed & handed over to the beneficiaries and 717 houses are under various stages of construction.
  2. Construction 19,736 permanent houses have been planned for Tsunami victims who lost their houses in Tsunami.  15,038 houses have been relocated site and 4,698 houses are being constructed on in-situ sites.
  3. Of 19,736 houses, the constructions of 17,701 houses have been taken up by the 58 NGOs and 2,035 houses have been constructed by Government. 
  4. 2,035 houses have been undertaken by the Government 1,143 houses are built by Tsunami District Implementation Unit in rural areas and 892 houses by Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board in urban areas.
  5. Of 717 houses which are under various stages 409 houses by NGOs will be completed before December 2009 and remaining 276 houses by Government will be completed by November 2009.
  6. Rs.170.60 crores have been spent against the sanctioned amount of Rs.170.60 crores on basic amenities on the construction sites like internal road, approach road, land filling, electricity connection, streetlights and livelihood.
  7. Rs.11.50 crores sanctioned for execution of common sewerage system in urban areas by Tamil Nadu Water Supply & Drainage Board (TWAD).  Work is under progress.
  8. All the houses in rural areas are built with toilet attached with individual septic tank with leach pit except 1,733 houses which were taken up by Government at the cost of Rs.150.41 lakhs
  9. All the houses are insured for 10 years for the sum insured of Rs.69,07,600/-
Relief Assistance to Loss of life
  1. Ex-gratia relief assistance paid to the legal heirs of 4,987 deceased in Tsunami at the rate of Rs.1.00 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and Rs.1.00 lakh from the Prime Minister’s Public Relief Fund.  Rs.99.74 crores sanctioned to the victims of which 4,230 belong to Nagapattinam District, 517 from other Districts and 240 from other States
  2. Rs.138.25 crores spent on relief assistance to 2,611 injured persons in Tsunami.
  3. Rs.7.00 lakhs spent on recanalisation to 40 women lost their children in Tsunami.
  4. Rs.14.00 crores have been paid as a premium under Universal Health Insurance Scheme covering 68 lakhs Tsunami victims under Insurance coverage
Reconstruction of Vulnerable Houses
  1. Reconstruction of 87 vulnerable houses within 200 mtrs from HTL in rural areas have been taken up under Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Package for Tsunami Affected Areas.    All the houses are handed over to the beneficiaries.
  2. Reconstruction of 269 vulnerable houses within 200 mtrs from HTL in urban areas have been taken up under Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Package for Tsunami Affected Areas 255 houses were handed over to the beneficiaries. 11 houses under progress.  3 houses to be dropped.
  3. 1985 vulnerable houses have been identified from 200 mtrs to 1000 mtrs of HTL in rural areas which are to be constructed under the assistance of World Bank by Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department.
The Nutshell of Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation activities in Nagapattinam:
  1. The Office of Prime Minister sanctioned Rs.111.39 crores for Tsunami victims of which Rs.107.19 crores have been utilized.
  2. Rs.81.13 crores sanctioned from Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Package for Tsunami Affected Areas for construction of houses and basic amenities of which Rs.78.98 crores have been spent.
  3. BSNL sanctioned Rs.26.02 crores for construction of 1,020 permanent houses for Tsunami victims and Rs.26.02 crores have been spent.
  4. Rs.148.46 crores have been spent from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund for ex-gratia payment to Loss of life and injured.
  5. Rs.160.70 crores spent against Rs.119.20 crores from the Calamity Relief Fund.
  6. Rs.46.67 crores have been spent for immediate restoration like debris clearance, approach road, etc., by the Government of Tamil Nadu.
  7. Rs.6.17 crores have been utilized against Rs.6.25 crores under MPLADS for creation infrastructures like old age home, school buildings, etc.
  8. Rs.133.47 crores sanctioned by Asian Development Bank under TEAP for creation of infrastructures and livelihood in Tsunami affected areas. Rs.110.80 crores have been spent out of Rs.133.47 crores.
  9. The World Bank sanctioned Rs.112.49 crores under ETRP of which Rs.77.24 crores have been spent.
  10. IFAD sanctioned Rs.49.83 crores for livelihood assistance in Tsunami affected areas through Self Help Groups.
  11. Apart from this the NGOs contributed around Rs.300 crores on various schemes for Tsunami Relief & Rehabilitation activities.