Victims miss decisiveness of Jaya, MK

Victims of Cyclone Gaja in the Delta and the officers handling the relief works on the ground are missing the political acumen of Dravidian stalwarts J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi.

The ruling AIADMK seems to have lost the strategies followed by their late Amma, who was clear about the compensations and following government orders with minimal clauses so that the cash relief reaches the people within few days reducing the protests.

During the 2015, Chennai floods when the state officials were working out the math and the clauses to be fixed for the flood reliefs to those residing in huts and flats, it was Jayalalithaa, who gave the solution to go for a flat relief of Rs 5,000 per person and the officials were asked to ignore the parameters, but now that acumen is missing, confidential government sources told DT Next.

“Over the years politicians have spoiled the public by giving freebies and cash relief to such an extent, they fail to realise that their lives have been saved by timely evacuation. Only early distribution of cash relief will now ease the situation and this strategy worked during the 2015 floods,” said a senior government official wishing not to be named.

“On December 28, 2004, (two days after Tsunami struck TN coast) hitting badly the Nagapattinam district, the former CM Jayalalitha was clear about the compensation to fishermen. When there were discussions about fixing the compensation amount around Rs 10,000 for a mechanised fishing boat, which then cost between Rs 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh, it was the bold decision of Jayalalithaa to increase the compensation to one-third of the original boat cost,” recalled another officer. “It had been more than a week since Cyclone Gaja struck Nagapattinam and the adjoining districts, the protests in Delta region continues to simmer. Things were fast during the AIADMK regime whenever Jayalalithaa was at the helm of affairs,” said Arupathy S Kalyanam, general secretary, Federation of Farmers Associations of Delta Districts. Similarly, DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi always connected to the farmers’ issues in Tiruvarur and Thanjavur. Drought relief compensations were timely and paddy procurement prices were periodically revised, but now the state fails to understand what must be addressed first. The Delta residents have been demanding tarpaulins to cover their devastated dwellings, but after eight days the state has agreed to provide the same, he charged. Further, the officers and the team are working round the clock but going by the damages there must be more support from the government. “Particularly the coconut farmers are under financial stress and the compensation is peanuts when compared to the past,” Kalyanam noted.

“Certain decisions during disasters are crucial and relying on officers will reduce the golden period for the state to calm down the victims. Further, both Amma and Kalaignar had a larger than life appeal to get things done and there is a political vacuum resulting in periodic protests,” said Sukumar Babu, organising secretary, AMMK.

The kind of command these leaders had on their cadre cannot be matched by the current crop of political leaders, he added. “Yes, we are missing strong leaders like Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi. And the calamities were handled better by them,” said M Mani, a farmer based in Mannargudi.