Cyclone Gaja: MK Stalin deems aid work in storm-hit areas 'not satisfactory', says E Palaniswami should step up relief activities

Chennai: DMK President MK Stalin Friday alleged the relief activity was “not satisfactory” in the Cauvery delta areas that were ravaged by Cyclone Gaja last week. [caption id=“attachment_4486483” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of DMK leader MK Stalin. PTI[/caption] The leader of the Opposition in the state assembly demanded that Chief Minister E Palaniswami convene a meeting of stakeholders from the region to take forward the relief activities in an effective manner. He also said Palaniswami should stay put in the delta region to oversee the relief work. “The people in the delta region have lost their livelihood. The relief work is not satisfactory for them. Palaniswami should actually stay there and expedite and regulate the relief activities,” he told reporters in Chennai. Further, Palaniswami should convene a meeting of stakeholders in the delta region — farmers’ and political parties’ representatives and welfare organisations, and discuss further streamlining and expediting the relief and rehabilitation efforts, he added. Cyclone Gaja had crossed the Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam on November 16, claiming 63 lives and leaving behind a trail of destruction, severely affecting the farming, fishing and power sectors. Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Pudukottai districts had suffered the worst damage. Tamil Nadu government has already released Rs 1,000 crore as interim measure to aid the relief and rehabilitation efforts, even as Palaniswami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Thursday seeking a Rs 14,910 crore relief package.