Cyclone: TN seeks Rs 1,000 cr help

NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here and asked for an immediate assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for relief operations after cyclone Vardah wreaked havoc in the state.

In a memorandum to Modi, he said it is estimated that the state will need Rs 22,573.26 crore for reconstruction and restoration works in the aftermath of the cyclone that hit the state on December 13.

"We have requested them (Centre) to release Rs 1,000 crore immediately, " Panneerselvam told reporters after the meeting with Modi.

The Tamil Nadu government said in a release that the cyclone has uprooted 1.50 lakh trees, damaged 30,000 electric poles and 800 transformers, apart from other damages.

In the brief meeting with Modi, Panneerselvam also urged the Centre to posthumously confer “Bharat Ratna” on former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

“I have requested the PM to recognise services and welfare policies of Amma and confer her Bharat Ratna,” he said after the meeting.

Accompanied by state Chief Secretary Rama Mohana Rao, advisor Sheela Balakrishnan and Deputy Lok Sabha Speaker M Thambidurai, the chief minister also put forth a request for setting up state-sponsored statue of Jayalalithaa in Parliament complex. “Permission for installation of a life-sized statue of the departed leader on the Parliament premises has also been sought,” CM Panneerselvam said.