A woman from Nicobar in a hospital in Port Blair on Thursday. (Reuters)

Port Blair, Dec. 30: Three days after repeatedly declaring that over 10,000 people in the Emeral Isle were either dead or missing, the Andaman and Nicobar administration today climbed down on the figures dramatically. Only 409 bodies were found and over 3,000 missing, it said.

Ram Khapse, the lieutenant governor of the Union territory, pointed out: ?The missing persons cannot be presumed dead until their bodies are found. Many bodies might have been sucked into the sea, but we will have to wait and see.?

Worried at the possibility of an epidemic breaking out in Port Blair, specially in the four relief camps, the government announced that the water supply lines will be restored in a day. ?So far, there has not been any epidemic, but we are not taking any chances,? Khapse added.

At least 3,000 people have been moved to relief camps in Port Blair, but things were not smooth in at least two. Problems plaguing the camps are acute scarcity of water, food and other relief material.

?Nobody from the administration seems to be bothered about us. There is no drinking water and the water stored here is stinking,? said 45-year-old Ayesha, who has just arrived in a large group from Hut Bay.

Alakha, a Nicobarese girl who witnessed the tragedy of watching her father hurled into trees by the tsunami, also complained. ?It seems rotting in the relief camp is my fate,? she said.

Since December 26, Port Blair is without water and occasional electricity. Most of the restaurants have closed down and several hotels have begun to shut their doors following the scarcity. The water pipes have broken down badly and the sewerage line seems to be cracking.

However, non-government organisations like the Nirmala Education, Ramkrishna Mission and Ravi Shankar?s Art of Living have been roped in by the government to ensure smooth functioning of the camps.

For the last five days, about 1,200 people were evacuated daily from Car Nicobar. Several hundreds have also been evacuated from Campbell Bay.

Now, on the plea of the administration, relief material from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana will reach Port Blair in a day or two. International agencies, including the Red Cross, have also joined hands with the government.

?We are hopeful that things will brighten up in the next few days, but it will take a long time to rebuild our homes,? said Khapse.

Vice-admiral Arun Kumar Singh, director-general of the coast guards, made an aerial survey of the entire affected coastline. The topography of many islands has changed.

?We have assessed the situation and will accordingly chalk out rebuilding measures once the rescue and relief mission is over,? he said.

The combined armed forces now in operation in Port Blair are also preparing for a possible visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

?We are planning to show the Prime Minister most of the devastated areas whenever he chooses to come. We have heard that the visit might be tomorrow,? a defence spokesperson said.