Chennai: Nilgiris district has been reeling under rain and is one of the worst hit in the State. Six people have reportedly lost their lives so far.
DMK president M K Stalin yesterday wrote to Tamilnadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami urging him to announce financial aid of Rs 1,000 crore for the district and also asked the government to declare the hilly region as disaster struck. The letter was handed over to Palaniswami at the Secretariat by DMK legislators.
In the letter, Stalin noted that more than 10,000 people have lost their houses and the State government’s estimate of Rs 199 crore for rehabilitation work in the hilly district will not be enough and the estimation could have been prepared in haste.
350 km of roads have been seriously damaged, and in the first phase financial package should be announced for repairing such roads and to build new houses. Also, an expert panel should be set up to plan and take on landslides and rain-related incidents in the hilly-region. Recommendations of the panel should be implemented on priority basis, he further wrote.
He also stated that the solatium of Rs 10 lakh announced by the government is not enough and so family members of those killed in the rain and flood should be given government jobs. An all party committee must be set up under whose presence relief materials should be distributed.
Stalin had earlier remarked that the AIADMK government had failed to take preventive measures to face the rain and flood situation in the State.
The CM Palaniswami said that Stalin’s visit to Nilgiris was done for publicity. Responding to this, the leader of opposition in the assembly said, “There is no intention of publicity and if it was considered so, it will amount to underestimation of democracy’s dignity.” It was his duty as a Leader of Opposition to inspect affected regions and offer solace to the people he added.
Stalin also pointed out that he provided a relief of Rs one lakh to the kin of those killed on behalf of his party and announced Rs 10 crore assistance from the constituency development fund of DMK MPs and MLAs. His letter was handed o