Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an interim relief of Rs 5,060 crore and also depute a Central team to visit the areas affected by Cyclone Michaung, which caused unprecedented heavy rains in Chennai and three of its neighbouring districts.
Mr Stalin the state government has also started assessing the damages caused by the cyclone and would prepare a detailed report and send it to the Centre requesting for additional funds.
In line with his announcement that the state government would seek Rs 5,000 crore as interim relief from the Centre to undertake relief measures in the flood hit Chennai and tits neighbouring districts of Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur, Mr Stalin wrote to Prime Minister in this regard seeking release of Rs 5,060 crore central funds as immediate relief.
An official release here said, Mr Stalin told Mr Modi that Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts witnessed unprecedented heavy rains because of the cyclone. which caused
damages to raods, bridges, public buildings and other infrastructure.
It said Mr Stalin had mentioned these facts in in detail in the letter to Mr MOdi and sought immediate release of Rs 5,060 crore as interim relief.
The Chief Minister said the process of detailed assessment of the damages caused by the Cyclone (which resulted in torrential rains when it entered the North Tamil Nadu coast before moving to South Andhra Pradesh coast and making a landfall fall near Bapatla) has commenced.
Additional funds will be sought from the Centre after the detailed report on the impact of the damages is prepared, Mr Stalin said and also urged Mr Modi to send a Central team to visit the cyclone hit areas to assess the damages caused by the heavy pounding, especially in Greater Chennai area and its suburbs with some localities experiencing a record rainfall up to 45 cms.
Though the city and its suburbs had been experiencing heavy rains since Thursday–there was respite on Friday–it poured incessantly on Saturday and Sunday before its intensity increased on Sunday evening and pouredalmost non-stop during the entire day on Monday before it started abating around Midnight and wee hours of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, for the second successive day, Mr Stalin visited and inspected some relief Centres in the city and distributed relief materials to the people housed there.
