India today halted the mass evacuation of Andaman and Nicobar islanders whose homes were smashed by tsunamis.

The Government said that it would instead take relief supplies to the islanders, as aid agencies have demanded. "There has been a change in strategy. Aid will be taken to their homes," a relief official said on condition of anonymity.

The Government refused however to lift its ban on international aid groups visiting outlying areas, saying it wished to protect the indigenous tribes and to maintain security at its military air base in the island group.

In the past week more than 12,000 villagers have been ferried by air and sea from the archipelago to the Andaman capital, Port Blair, as Indian officials visit the more outlying isles to assess the damage. Some islanders have been sent to the mainland to look for work.

The deluge of victims has turned most of Port Blair's schools into refugee camps, plunging island survivors into an urban world that most had never seen before, and many disliked.

People were living under plastic sheets and lining up for food as they waited for the government to allocate resources to rebuild their homes.

"I feel awful in the city. It's so noisy," said 14-year-old Manmat Rao from the island of Hut Bay. "They keep telling my mother to go to the mainland. Why should we go? To beg there? We don't have any money; that's all we will do."

The large-scale transfers of survivors away from their homes has been criticised by aid agencies, who say India’s relief program is in disarray.

Saroj Das, ActionAid International's regional manager for southern India, urged the Government to lift the ban on aid agencies visiting outlying islands, given the enormity of the disaster.

"The whole world wants to respond to this crisis. Andaman and Nicobar should not be isolated from this relief effort," he said.

Mr Dhas said the worst affected in crisis situations are often women and children.

"They get so scared that they cannot face real life. The moment of the tsunami is reflected in their minds again and again. Large-scale counseling is needed in this situation where they have been uprooted and brought here. They have to be brought back to their communities," he said.

Sushil Singh, principal of a Port Blair high school that is being used as a relief camp, said he sees the impact on the children living in the shelter.

"The children are all scared. Often they imagine there are tremors and run out the building in the night. We are trying to put them at ease with sports like football and cricket," he said.

S Chiranjivi, 12, from Hut Bay islands, said: "I’m scared of the sea now. I used to play near the waves all the time back home but I don’t want to see it now. I can’t forget that day."

The Indian authorities say that conditions on the islands are gradually improving. Relief camps have been built, telephone and utility links restored on many islands, and dozens of smashed jetties are being reconstructed.

Every type of transport, including fire engines, is being used to ferry drinking water. Army doctors have started inoculating villagers against disease.

The small runway on the remote island of Car Nicobar, which was badly hit, is being rebuilt.

"I don’t think we have handled anything of this magnitude. The destruction is enormous, I can’t even describe it. But despite the tragedy ... we were operational immediately. The Car Nicobar runway will be ready in two weeks," said SP Tyagi, the Chief of Air Staff.

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