Dozens of Tsunami survivors were injured in Andaman and Nicobar Islands after police responded with violence during protests over the reconstruction of homes destroyed by the 2004 tsunami.

ActionAid has joined local groups in condemning the police brutality on the remote island of Little Andaman, a 6-10 hour journey by boat from the regional capital Port Blair.

“This is a sad day for human rights,” says Harjeet Singh, head of ActionAid’s Andaman and Nicobar team. “Such violence is inexcusable.”

Over a thousand women and men had taken to the streets at Hut Bay on the island of Little Andaman , demanding that the government listen to their grievances.

"We have many demands regarding the rehabilitation process," says Paritosh Halder, a local leader. "We have submitted our charter of demands long back to the administration but no one cares for us. We are not happy with the design of permanent shelters and their location."

Still no homes - two years later

Almost two years after the tsunami disaster, over 10,000 families are still living in temporary shelters in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands .

"The temporary shelters are not fit even for the cattle to live,” says Geeta Rao, former Panchayat Leader at Hut Bay . The government has promised to build some 10,000 new homes.

But islanders say the homes are being built far from the site of their occupations and the prefabricated design means they cannot repair them with local materials.

Homes for fishermen are being built on hill tops and families are being asked to share properties.

Samir Acharya of the Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology says, "If you are a farmer tied to your land, how would you like to be 3-4 km from your land? How will they bring their produce to market?"

Wake up call

ActionAid and partners, who are working with tsunami affected communities in five countries, have been advocating that that new homes should meet local needs.

“You can’t hope to build new homes without addressing residents’ basic concerns,” says Harjeet Singh. “Best practice in disaster response is for affected communities to be involved in decisions that affect their lives.

“I only hope this acts as a wake up call for all those involved in disaster response to place the rights of survivors at the centre in relief and reconstruction efforts," he adds.