Cyclone Gajahit TN demands ₹15K crore in aid from Centre

OPPOSITION DMK raps state govt for ‘delay’ in securing aid CHENNAI:

Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and sought Rs 15,000 crore as immediate assistance to rebuild his state’s cyclone-hit districts. He hoped the state would receive “liberal aid” from the Centre even as opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief, M K Stalin, expressed his doubts, saying the Centre had belied their expectations in the past. The cyclone left 63 people dead besides forcing the evacuation of over 80,000 people when it made landfall on Friday last.

Palaniswami said he submitted a memorandum describing the extent “of colossal damage” and the requirement to carry out restoration works in the 12 cyclone-hit districts. “The prime minister assured to depute a team of officials at the earliest to assess the magnitude of the damage...” He said the state has sought Rs 14,910 crore for permanent restoration programmes apart from the Rs 1,500 crore immediate assistance.

Palaniswami countered Stalin’s criticism on his five-day delay in visiting the affected areas and cutting short his inspection midway. “How many places Stalin was able to visit by road? What was he able to do?” He dismissed the charges of his government’s inaction in carrying out relief work. “The quantum of relief provided now was more than what the DMK had extended during natural calamities.”

Stalin insisted he was not politicising the relief works and said the Centre should have given assistance by now. He said Palaniswami neither inspected the cyclone havoc nor discussed the situation with the stakeholders before meeting Modi.

Stalin, who sent relief materials worth Rs 4 crore to the cyclone-hit areas from Trichy, alleged the inept handling of the situation stood exposed. “Will Palaniswami accept his failure to get immediate central aid on the pretext that the DMK, too, could not secure in the past?”

He accused the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Bharatiya Janata Party of colluding in looting the state. “This becomes very clear since the BJP at the Centre had not extended the aid sought for cyclone Thane, Vardha and Ochki,” he said, referring to the earlier cyclones that have hit the state. He added that DMK lawmakers would donate their one month’s salary to the government for the cyclone relief.