‘Can’t declare cyclone a national calamity’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre on Sunday said Cyclone Ockhi, which wreaked havoc in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep, could not be declared a national calamity as there was no such scheme.

However, it assured all necessary assistance to tackle the situation. Speaking to reporters after attending a high-level meeting chaired by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the secretariat here, Union minister KJ Alphons said the Centre had already given necessary relief funds to the state government. “We have received a memorandum from the state government requesting to declare Cyclone Ockhi as a national calamity. But there is no such scheme for the Centre to do the same,” he said.

Though the Union tourism minister earlier backed the Kerala government’s contention that they had not received any prior warning about the cyclone, he later clarified that the central agencies had given alerts on November 28 and 29.

The minister, in the presence of Vijayan, had earlier stated that the state received the cyclone alert only on November 30 and a clear prior warning had not been issued before that. He later visited nearby Punthura, a coastal hamlet where fishermen are protesting alleging delay in rescue of their kin.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Twitter that 68 fishing boats, mainly from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, had reached the state’s coast. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman also took to the microblogging site to inform that 357 fishermen, including 71 from Tamil Nadu, were rescued on Sunday morning. In addition, 248 fishermen from Kerala and 38 from Lakshadweep Islands, were rescued.

After battering Lakshadweep islands, Ockhi is moving towards the western coast of the country, Met officials said. It is likely to weaken once it arrives at the Gujarat coasts by Monday.