CHENNAI: The toll in cyclone Gaja has touched 45, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said on Sunday and appealed to leaders of all political parties to take part in the relief activities.
Around 250,000 people have been evacuated in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, where wind speeds reached 120kmph when the storm made landfall on Nov. 16.
The Tamil Nadu government has announced a solatium of Rs. 10 lakh to family of each of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund (CMPRF).
Those with severe injuries would be provided with Rs. one lakh each while those whose injuries are not grievous in nature would get Rs. 25,000 compensation.
Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said revenue and the agricultural department officials have been directed to estimate the damage to crops.
Opposition leaders have criticized what they say was the government’s apathy in reaching out relief materials like food, drinking water and other material to the cyclone affected areas.
The after-effect of the severe storm has unsettled the daily lives of a large number of residents of central districts of Tamilnadu, especially Nagapattinam.
After the cyclone made landfall 15 November, electricity supply was disrupted in the district affecting the day-to-day activities of people. A large number of people could also be seen queuing at fuel stations.
Relief workers are trying hard to reach remote and inaccessible areas of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Pudukottai.
The central government has been asked to depute a team from the National Disaster Management to assess the destruction.
