Chief Minister presses for speedy rain relief

The CM told the officials that the requirement of funds for relief and infrastructure restoration “are well beyond the resources available with the state.” Jayalalithaa’s plea to the Central team was divulged to the media in a press release. 

The eight-member interministerial team, led by T V S N Prasad, Joint Secretary in the Union Home Ministry, praised the state government for the rescue, relief and restoration work. The team had earlier visited the state and made an assessment of damage to property and heard survivors’ accounts of the travails they went through.

Prasad said the state 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 was quoted as saying. Jaya detailed the damage suffered by the state in December and also thanked the PM for deputing the Central team once again. 

According to officials, the team accompanied by Corporation of Chennai (CoC) officials first visited Mylapore Sivasami Salai around 4 pm and inspected a century old damaged drain pipeline. Corporation officials told the team that work was on to repair the damage. 

The team visited Kotturpuram, Saidapettai, Jafferkhanpet, Valasaravakkam and Virugampakkam. “We visited flood-affected areas and assessed damage due to flood. We will submit our assessment report accordingly,” said a member. 

The team interacted with people in affected areas and enquired about the damage to their possessions. At Jafferkhanpet, people gathered at a spot and narrated how they suffered during the flood to the team. 

Corporation Commissioner Vikram Kapur, was with the team guiding them to the affected places in the city.