Chennai: Relief operations gathered pace in cyclone ‘Gaja‘-hit districts of Tamilnadu Monday even as sporadic protests by the affected people demanding quick assistance continued in various places for the second day.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami took stock of the situation at a high-level meeting here and announced an immediate cash assistance totalling Rs 8,800 to each families sheltered in relief camps besides, 10 kg rice and four litres of kerosene.
He also said compensation would be given to farmers and fishermen and directed allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for immediate relief and rehabilitation works. In a statement later, Palaniswami said the toll in the cyclone has risen to 46, while a total of 2,51,674 people were staying in relief camps.
He said Rs 5,000 would be given as immediate livelihood support to each family lodged in cyclone centres, to those who lost their homes and fishermen who lost their boats in the cyclone that crossed the coast near Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district on Friday, causing devastation in several districts.
Besides, Rs 3,800 per family would be given for buying clothes and utensils, he said. In addition, people whose huts were completely damaged will be provided with Rs 10,000 assistance, while partially damaged houses will get Rs 4,100.
The state will also seek central funds considering the extent of the damage, he said, adding he would visit the affected areas Tuesday. Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind spoke to Palaniswami and enquired about the situation.
Reports received here painted a grim picture of the affected districts where the farm sector had taken a severe hit as crops in large swathe of lands had been damaged, and nearly two lakh trees, including coconut and plantain, uprooted, leaving the farmers in acute distress.
Life was limping back to normalcy in urban areas with electricity being restored gradually, the reports said. Several ministers were deputed to the affected districts to oversee and speed up relief operations.
Over 1.31 lakh people had been accommodated in relief camps in the badly-hit Nagapattinam district, which was visited Monday by five ministers, including P Thangamani (Electricity) and S P Velumani, as part of efforts to speed up relief and restoration works.
Protests were held by residents in parts of Thanjavur and Thiruvarur districts, demanding early restoration of power and drinking water supply. Facing flak over alleged tardy relief measures, the state government Monday said people should not think that only such protests would solve their problems and asserted it was working to reach out to all.
Palaniswami held a meeting with his cabinet colleagues, including deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, and senior IAS officials here. He said coconut farmers will get a compensation of Rs 2.64 lakh per hectare, while for paddy crops it will be Rs 13,500 per hectare.
The cyclone which crossed the coast with a speed of up to 120 kmph has left a trail of destruction, uprooting 1.7 lakh trees and damaging 88,102 hectares of agricultural land. It caused severe damage in the districts of Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Ramanathapuram, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Tiruvarur in the state and Karaikal in Puducherry.
Palaniswami said Dindigul, Sivaganga, Tiruchirappalli, Cuddalore, Karur and Theni were also affected. Meanwhile, principal opposition DMK announced contribution of one month’s salary of its MPs and MLAs towards cyclone relief activities besides Rs 1 crore from the DMK Trust for the purpose.
Amid the continuing protests, Revenue Minister R B Udayakumar said the government was reaching out to all concerned and that people should not think that only agitations will draw its attention to their issues.
He claimed people with ‘anti-social mentality’ were behind such protests and asked the public to shun them. On Sunday, irate people in Kotthamangalam village in Puthukottai district had gone on a rampage, setting ablaze government vehicles and clashed with police, protesting alleged failure of officials to provide them relief.
Electricity Minister Thangamani said the department had suffered significant losses in Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Puthukottai and Thiruvarur districts. Over 98,000 electric poles and 846 transformers have been severely damaged and nearly 15,000 workers were engaged in restoration works, he said.
Power supply was being restored on a ‘war-footing’ and additional manpower had been sought from neighbouring states, including Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, he told reporters in Nagapattinam. Supply had been restored in town areas and for hospitals, he added.
The Health Ministry said that over 1,700 medical camps have been held and about 1.06 lakh people screened as part of preventive measures in affected areas. Drinking water was being chlorinated to prevent outbreak of any epidemic even as private water tankers were also being monitored, a department release said.