As flood crisis continues in Tamil Nadu, Jaya asks PM Modi to release Rs 2,000 cr for rain relief

Chennai: With the north-east monsoon leaving a trail of destruction in Tamil Nadu, the state government on Monday pegged the damage at Rs 8,481 crore, with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately release Rs 2,000 crore to sustain relief work. In a letter to the Prime Minister, she said that 169 lives have been lost in various rain-related incidents since 1 October, 2015. Detailing the extent of the damage, Jayalalithaa told the PM that despite her government’s preventive efforts, the state had suffered severe damage on account of the “extremely heavy and sustained” rainfall which, she said, had left a trail of destruction. She also said that her government had allocated Rs 500 crore for relief work. [caption id=“attachment_2517308” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rains in Chennai. Image courtesy: PTI[/caption] The assessment of damages and the requirement of funds for immediate relief and restoration of infrastructure which she said had been speedily carried out indicated a much higher financial requirement. “The requirement of funds for immediate rescue and relief and the temporary and permanent restoration of infrastructure has been worked out at Rs.8,481 crore in all….” “This assessment has been made as an immediate measure since the Government of Tamil Nadu requires assistance from Government of India to meet the very high expenditure requirements that such a severe calamity has caused. The funds required are well beyond the resources available with the state, including the State Disaster Response Fund,” she said. She requested Modi to depute a central team immediately to make its on-the-spot assessment of damage and to release central financial aid without any delay keeping in view the urgency of restoring many of the infrastructure facilities and services to the flood affected people. “In the meanwhile, I request that an on account release of Rs 2,000 crore may be sanctioned immediately to enable the state government to sustain the relief and restoration operations with the same vigour,” Jayalalithaa said. Jayalalithaa recalled that a deep depression of ‘high intensity’ in the Bay of Bengal had hit the Tamil Nadu coast near Marakkanam on 10 November, 2015, causing extremely heavy rains, particularly in the four northern coastal districts of  Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Chennai and Tiruvallur. “Based on the forecast received from Indian Meteorological Department and the alerts received from the National Disaster Management Agency, adequate precautionary measures were taken which minimised loss to life and property,” she said, adding state-level agencies and the local administration in the affected districts were put on high alert. PTI