Students have been hit hard by last week's tsunami disaster with school buildings in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands either washed away by the massive waves or turned into relief camps.

In order to provide relief to the students, the administration is planning to bring affected students of class X and XII from the various islands to Port Blair, official sources said.

"This process will be completed by the weekend and the students will be put up in hostels," the sources said.

For all those who lost their textbooks, uniforms and books, fresh supplies would be issued. With some of the school buildings turned into relief camps, classes will be held wherever school buildings were available and also in tents in the camps.

• How to help people of A&N

The mid-day meal, which was served up to class VIII, would now be extended to all students up to class X.

Union Sports Minister Sunil Dutt, who visited the tsunami-hit islands, assured students of supplying footballs. The game is very popular in Port Blair.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday relaxed its order banning felling of trees from forests and allowed the Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration to use timber and non-timber forest produce to make houses for affected people.

The court, however, said no felling will be done up to 1,000 metres from the seashore in national parks, sanctuaries and mangrove forests.

The felling of tress will be exclusively for meeting the immediate requirement of rehabilitation work and not for any commercial purposes, the apex court said.

Also See:
Tsunami: How to get information on Tamil Nadu