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Rs 500-cr Central relief for rain-hit Tamil Nadu New Delhi/Chennai: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday sanctioned an aid of Rs 500 cr (108 million dollars) to carry out immediate relief operations in flood-affected areas of Tamil Nadu. The package was approved following a report submitted by a Central team after assessing the damage caused by floods in October. The amount was sanctioned by pending the final assessment by another Central team which was sent today to assess the damage in nearly 15 districts of the state due to floods caused by heavy rain between November 21 and 24, said an official release. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has expressed grief at the loss of so many lives due to the torrential rains in last two months. Singh, who spoke to the Chief Minister of the state, J. Jayalalithaa on phone, has offered all possible assistance from the Central Government for the ongoing relief and rescue operations and all possible support for rehabilitation of the affected people and the region. The Prime Minister also offered an assistance of Rs. 50,000 to each of the families of those who lost their lives in the bus accidents caused by flash floods in Ramanathapuram and Thanjavur districts on Friday. Flood waters have started receding in some areas of rain-ravaged Tamil Nadu, but the overall situation continues to remain grim and heartbreaking. In the districts of Cuddalore, Tiruchirapalli and Karur, over 200,000 people have been displaced by the rains. Overall, the floods have caused havoc in at least 12 districts of the southern state. With good weather prevailing in Madurai, the relief operations are picking up speed. State authorities say that the breached water tanks have been attended to and weak points have been plugged. Residents are hopeful about the state not being hit by a further downpour, but do still retain the fear that a weather change could devastate their lives beyond imagination. "With good weather showing up the water is receding but if rain comes again the situation might worsen," said Thangam Murgai, a villager from Madurai District. District officials said water levels of the main Vaigai River had come down from 4500 cuseus to 1000 cusecs on Sunday. "With the heavy downpour it was difficult for us to arrest water breaches in various tanks around the district. But now with the good weather we are concentrating on strengthening all water tanks so that water flow could be arrested and used for the good," said K. Panddikaruppanan, executive engineer of the Public Works Department. Rescue work in one of the worst affected districts of Cuddalore district, which continues to be flooded, went ahead with boats being sent by the administration to rescue affected people. Most of the people in Cuddalore have been put in temporary relief camps. Though the rains have stopped the residents are still battling the after-effects of the flooding such as water-borne diseases, lack of clean water supply, blocked drainage systems and water- logged and damaged streets. Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have struggled to cope with torrential rains since last month. Tamil Nadu state was the worst hit by the heavy rain and storms that paralysed life in southern India, flooding roads, snapping power and phone lines and disrupting flights. On Sunday, Home Minister Shivraj Patil along with Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Union Minister of State for Home, S Raghupathy, had visited the flood affected areas of the state to take stock of the situation. Jayalalithaa visits flood-hit Madurai Madurai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa on Monday asked for more relief for the flood-affected people of the state, saying that the Rs.500 crore (108 million dollar) relief package announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was insufficient. The relief package was offered on the basis of a federal team's assessment report of 15 affected districts. Though the rains have stopped the residents are still battling the after-effects of the flooding such as water-borne diseases, lack of clean water supply, blocked drainage systems and water- logged and damaged streets. Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have struggled to cope with torrential rain last month that has claimed over 200 lives alone in Tamil Nadu. Jayalalithaa, on a visit to the flood hit districts, met with thousands of displaced people in Madurai city and distributed relief material. ""We have asked for assistance from the federal government and also demanded its team and visit the affected districts of the state to assess the damaged caused due to flash floods. I hope the team will arrive soon. Now, I have learnt that 5 billion rupees have been sanctioned, but it is not enough because for the interim relief itself we had asked for Rs.3000 crore (6.6 billion dollars). So, it is not enough," she told reporters. Tamil Nadu state was the worst hit by the heavy rain and storms that paralysed life in southern India, flooding roads, snapping power and phone lines and disrupting flights. |
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