Nirmala Sitharaman said 31 people lost their lives; Kanimozhi said state govt had nothing much to do to prevent floods triggered by unprecedented downpour.
Published Dec 22, 2023 | 3:24 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 22, 2023 | 7:02 PM
Floods in southern Tamil Nadu. (Screengrab)
Several areas, including Thoothukudi city, remained flooded on Friday, 22 December, almost a week after heavy rains lashed four southern districts in Tamil Nadu.
Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said that such heavy rains were unprecedented and there was nothing much the government could do to prevent the flooding.
“The weather department did not expect the rain and the sudden change in weather caused the rains, and the government actually could not have done anything to prevent the flooding,” Kanimozhi said.
Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that as many as 31 people lost their lives in the four districts, but added that the rains and its aftermath cannot be declared as a national calamity.
The Union government has already released ₹900 crore to the state disaster fund in two equal instalments to be used in this financial year, she told reporters. She said the second instalment was provided on 12 December, before the rains pummelled the four districts. The state’s opening balance in the current financial year was ₹813.15 crore, she said,
Discrediting the claims of the state government, Sitharaman said the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai has ultra-modern equipment including three dopplers and had forecast on 12 December itself that there would be heavy rainfall in the four districts — Tenkasi, Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Thoothukudi on 16 and 17 December.
She further added that the Union government always issued the forecast five days in advance, besides providing nowcasts three hours in advance.
When such a massive disaster was taking place in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin was in Delhi with the INDIA bloc, she said.
The finance minister, in a post on X, also said there was no practice of announcing any disaster as a National Disaster.
There is no practice of announcing any disaster, in any state, at any time, by any government (of India) as National Disaster. Since there is a lot of interest in TN, even Tsunami of December 2004 (UPA with partner DMK) was not declared as Natl. Disaster. 1/3
— Nirmala Sitharaman (Modi Ka Parivar) (@nsitharaman) December 22, 2023
The Kerala government will extend a helping hand to flood-hit Tamil Nadu by providing kits containing essential commodities to the affected families there, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
The chief minister, in a Facebook post, also listed the details of articles to be included in each kit and its proposed quantities.
Vijayan said rice, salt, sugar, wheat, sunflower oil, bucket, soap, toothpaste, comb and towel among other things will be included in the kit.
“It is intended to ensure assistance to the distressed families in the neighbouring state by providing them kits comprising essential commodities,” he noted.
Noting that the items are being collected at the Disaster Management Authority office here, Vijayan also urged everyone to take part in the initiative to help their fellow beings.
The DMK MP from Thoothukudi said that the heavy flow of water, which was unprecedented, caused the flooding.
“More than one-and-a-half lakh cusecs of water were flowing every day from the Thamirabarani river and several tanks also got breached. The amount of water was not containable and that caused this devastation,” said Kanimozhi.
“She said that the first concern of the officials was to shift people to safer places but they were not cooperating immediately saying that the water never reached their area even in their grandfather’s time,” she added.
“Every time I visit people, they are saying that even in their grandfather’s days water has never come here,” she said adding that the situation was so bad.
She said that the rains and the subsequent flooding affected everything including crops and cattle.
“Everything has been affected. Crops have been affected, houses and roads have been completely washed away and bridges have broken down. It caused so much damage that the entire district is shaken,” she said.
Kanimozhi further said that the Thoothukudi corporation area was the most affected.
She added that that relief work has been going on with the help of the National Disaster Response Force and the Army.
“Some areas are still affected but of course, roads have been opened up. The current situation is better than a few days before as access has been restored to places which were not accessible at all,” the MP said.
An inter-ministerial central team visited the inundated areas in Tirunelveli district on Thursday, 21 December, to assess the extent of damage.
Chief Minister Stalin visited the southern districts on Thursday to take stock of the damage caused by massive inundation and to console the affected people.
Nearly 40 lakh people in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts were hit by the savage rains while Srivaikuntam and villages near Tiruchendur suffered great damage as the Thamirabarani river overflowed.
He highlighted the damage caused by the heavy rain in the southern districts and said that relief work was being carried out.
Necessary funds should be allocated quickly for repairing the damage, Stalin said in a memorandum presented to the Union government, an official release said.
The chief minister mentioned that the inter-ministerial team that surveyed the areas affected by Cyclone Michaung appreciated the Tamil Nadu government for promptly carrying out the rescue and relief work.
(With PTI inputs)
