After DMK slams Jayalalithaa, Central team praises Tamil Nadu CM for flood relief work

Chennai: An eight-member inter-ministerial team deputed by the Centre to assess the flood damage in Tamil Nadu today met Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa who asked them to make an “in-depth assessment” and submit its report to the Union Home Ministry “expeditiously.” The team, led by T V S N Prasad, Joint Secretary in the Union Home Ministry, also praised the state government for the rescue, relief and restoration work. [caption id=“attachment_2546040” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Central team says TN government has worked well to contain any epidemic breakout/ PTI[/caption] Jayalalithaa, who has demanded a Central assistance of Rs. 25,912 crore, told the visiting team of officials that the requirement of funds for relief and restoration of infrastructure “are well beyond the resources available with the state.” She requested the Central team “to make an in-depth assessment of the damage suffered by the state and to submit its report to the Ministry of Home Affairs expeditiously.” Jayalalithaa’s address to the Central team was released by the government to the media. The Chief Minister detailed the damage suffered by the state in December following which it had submitted a demand for Rs. 25,912 crore, and also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for deputing the Central team once again which will be visiting affected areas today and tomorrow. Besides Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts bore the brunt of the torrential rains during the North East monsoon last year. The team, led by Prasad, had earlier also visited the state and made an assessment of damage. During the meeting with Ms Jayalalithaa, Prasad said the state government was “successful in preventing outbreak of any epidemic by timely measures such as chlorination and health camps.” “There was widespread appreciation in the Ministries of Government of India about the prompt manner in which the state government machinery rose to the occasion and attended to rescue, relief and restoration work,” he said. Jaya’s coterie making idiotic claims: DMK chief DMK President M Karunanidhi on Tuesday slammed arch rival AIADMK over its handling of the recent rains and subsequent deluge and warned that his party would soon “respond” to the ruling party “legally and through parliamentary democracy.” Karunanidhi’s statement comes months ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, even as he said that the Jayalalithaa government “must be removed immediately.” [caption id=“attachment_2571590” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  M Karunanidhi. PTI[/caption] Leading a DMK agitation on the issue of rains and floods, he once again trained his guns against the ruling party over the issue of discharge of excess water from Chembarambakkam reservoir here, which the opposition parties have been claiming resulted in the deluge in Chennai. “There is a coterie which is prostrating before her and making idiotic claims… it can claim that despite the atrocities and the Chembarambakkam issue it can come back to power. The day to give them a reply is not far off. Very soon, we are going to respond to them legally and through parliamentary democracy,” he said in his address. He charged the government with not handling the flood situation properly, although Jayalalithaa had repeatedly stated that Tamil Nadu had faced unprecedented rain which made matters worse despite her government’s preparedness. DMK had earlier petitioned Governor K Rosaiah on the same issue. Agencies