Ockhi damage: Central team inspects entire Kanniyakumari

Cyclone ‘Ockhi’ had struck Kanniyakumari district on November 29 and had wrecked havoc throughout the district. Life was thrown out of order for Kanniyakumari denizens and following that state had demanded compensation for emergency and permanent works to be undertaken post ‘Ockhi’.

To assess the damages and to disburse funds, the central government had sent a team to Tamil Nadu. While a team went to Chennai, to assess the damages caused by northeast monsoon rains, a five-member team was sent to Kanniyakumari district.

The five member team was led by Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, Joint Secretary, Union Home Ministry. The other members were P Paul Pandian, Fisheries Development Commissioner, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, OP Suman, Deputy Director from Ministry of Power, Parameswar Bali, Chartering Officer (Port), Ministry of Shipping, and K Manoharan, Director, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Directorate of Jute Development, Kolkata.

The team had initially visited Government Higher Secondary School at Kollankodu village where a meeting with officials was conducted. It saw photos of the cyclone-affected areas which were displayed in a school. Kanniyakumari Collector Sajjan Singh R Chavan, explained about the areas which had suffered extensive damages.

Then the team visited Thoothukudi coastal village where an interactive meeting with kin of fishermen and fishermen representatives from eight coastal villages was conducted in a private college. At the meeting, the team heard the grievances of the kin of fishermen and from fishermen representatives.

When the team was hearing the grievances of the fishermen, a section of fishermen youth suddenly started raising questions. They alleged that the central government did not start the rescue operation immediately. Because of the disruption, there was tension at the meeting. Following that, the team split into three and first team went to Chinnathurai, Thoothoor, Eraiviputhenthurai villages and Poothurai to assess the damages.

Another team went to Kalpadi, Padmanabapuram and Chittarancode to assess the damages in banana and rubber plantations. The third team went to Periyakulam and Maruinkottai to assess the damages of electricity posts and other infrastructure damages.