Cyclone Ockhi: Central team visits parts of Chennai, Kanyakumari to assess damage

Chennai: A central team on Thursday visited parts of Chennai and Kanyakumari districts to assess the damage caused by torrential rains and cyclone Ockhi. While one group visited parts of Chennai and its neighbourhood, the other held discussions with fisherfolk in Kanyakumari, which was battered by Ockhi last month. Members of the fishing and farming communities expressed their grievances to the team members. Relatives of missing fishermen wanted the government to expedite search and rescue of the fishermen still missing in the aftermath of the cyclone. Revenue Secretary B Chandramohan told reporters that the team will continue their survey of the affected areas in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur until Friday. [caption id=“attachment_4255463” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representaional image. AP[/caption] The officials will study the extent of damage to roads, infrastructure, loss of lives and areas that faced inundation during the downpour in these districts. It will later submit its report to the Centre, he added. The central team, headed by Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, joint secretary in the Union home ministry, is likely to meet Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Friday. The team members are drawn from various central ministries like finance, power and water resources, according to officials. The state government had sought a central relief package of about Rs 9,300 crore from Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards taking up rehabilitation efforts in cyclone-hit areas of the state, including Kanyakumari, during his visit to the district post-Ockhi. The state government had wanted the Centre to declare the cyclone as a “national disaster” on account of its “severity.” It sought Rs 5,255 crore assistance towards implementing permanent rehabilitation measures in Kanyakumari and another Rs 4,047 crore to cater to other parts of the state, including Chennai, affected by the northeast monsoon.