Kameswaram

Kameswaram
Thirupoondi East
Village
Map
Interactive map of Kameswaram
Coordinates: 10°37′N 79°50′E / 10.61°N 79.83°E / 10.61; 79.83
CountryIndia
StateTamil Nadu
DistrictNagapattinam
TalukKilvelur
Ooratchi OndriyamKeezhaiyur
Pincode611110
Government
 • TypeGrama Panchayat
Population
 • Total
5,600
DemonymIndian
Languages
 • OfficialTamil
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Postal code
611110
Vehicle registrationTN-51
Lok Sabha constituencyNagapattinam
Legislative Assembly constituencyKilvelur

Kameswaram is a coastal village in the Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is referred to as Thirupoondi East in government records. In 2018, it was one of the villages heavily affected by Cyclone Gaja.[1]

Earlier, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami had also destroyed much of the village, taken lives and negatively impacted its residents, mostly fishermen, farmers, shop keepers and labourers.

Geography and demographics

Kameswaram contains nine administrative wards: Vairavankadu – I, Vairavankadu – II, Vettar Kadu, Meenavar Theru, Anaiyan Thoppu, Kallar Nagar, Sivan Koil Theru, Melakkadu, and Thandava Moorthi Kadu. There are 39 temples and a church spread over the nine wards. There are 61 traditional village ponds which are used to harvest rain water. The population of the village is heterogeneous including predominantly low-income and traditionally marginalized communities. According to the 2011 census of India , Kameswaram comprises about 1535 households.

Facilities

Anganwadis and Schools

There are four functioning Anganwadis to take care of toddlers (from the age of 2) while their parents go to work. There are three government primary schools run by the village Panchayat. In addition, there is a government aided St. Sebastian Primary School. Finally, there are two private schools: the St. Valanar Primary School and the St Sebastian High school.

Nursing School and Dialysis Center

The Fundación Esperanza y Alegría of Spain set up the COHAJ hospital in Kameswaram in 2008. It now serves as a Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife training centre and offers dialysis services to local patients.

Sanitation, Eco-Innovation and a Rural Living Lab

In the aftermath of the tsunami Kameswaram was helped by many NGOs and international agencies, who left once their projects were completed. However, the NGO, Friend In Need India Trust or FIN [2] created by the academic Shyama V. Ramani, decided to remain in the village,[3] and open a Living Rural Lab for the development and introduction of pro-poor innovations to improve access to sanitation and clean water, community waste management as well as gender equality. FIN’s stewardship in Kameswaram mainly involved facilitating the construction, diffusion and improvement of existing Ecological sanitation models. The impact of the activities of Friend In Need Trust has been a notable reduction in open defecation and related diseases,[4] improvement in adolescent health and school attendance,[5] increased awareness and adoption of ecological and circular economy principles[6] and replication of the sanitation model in other rural contexts. In 2007, Kameswaram village received the Nirmal Gram Puraskar or Clean Village award,[7] heralding that its residents were ready to make the behavioural switch from open defecation to toilet usage. Since then, Kameswaram has been the site of multiple academic research studies contributing to reflections on inclusive innovation, development interventions and sanitation policy. [8][9][10]

References

  1. ^ Ganesan, S. (27 November 2018). "Gaja worse than tsunami, say fisherfolk". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Friend In Need India Trust (FIN) – Sanitation, Waste Management and Hygiene Behaviour for Health and Climate resilience". Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  3. ^ TEDx Talks (11 May 2014). Toilet revolution: Shyama V. Ramani at TEDxMaastricht. Retrieved 14 May 2025 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ Ramani, Shyama V. (2020). "On consortium driven sanitation interventions to end open defecation: insights from an Indian village study". Innovation and Development. 10 (2): 245–261. doi:10.1080/2157930X.2019.1580934 – via Google Scholar.
  5. ^ Ramani, Shyama V.; Frühauf, Timothée; Dutta, Arijita (2017). "On Diarrhoea in Adolescents and School Toilets:Insights from an Indian Village School Study". The Journal of Development Studies. 53 (11): 1899–1914. doi:10.1080/00220388.2016.1277017 – via Google scholar.
  6. ^ "PechaKucha 20x20". stagingwww.pechakucha.com. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  7. ^ Venkatesh, Sangeeta (18 August 2014). "Kameshwaram's Unique Toilet Technology". Clean India Journal.
  8. ^ Ramani, Shyama V.; SadreGhazi, Shuan; Duysters, Geert (2012). "On the diffusion of toilets as bottom of the pyramid innovation: Lessons from sanitation entrepreneurs". Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 79 (4): 676–687. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2011.06.007 – via Google Scholar.
  9. ^ Ramani, Shyama V.; Bruder, Maximilian (11 August 2023). "How ChatGPT might be able to help the world's poorest and the organisations that work with them". The Conversation.
  10. ^ Ramani, Shyama V.; SadreGhazi, Shuan; Gupta, Suraksha (2017). "Catalysing innovation for social impact: The role of social enterprises in the Indian sanitation sector". Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 121: 216–227. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2016.10.015 – via Google Scholar.
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