MK Stalin, who was supposed to inspect the flood-hit regions on 20 December, would be visiting on 21 December.
Published Dec 20, 2023 | 1:55 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 20, 2023 | 1:56 PM
Floods in southern Tamil Nadu. (Screengrab)
An inter-ministerial central team is likely to visit Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, 20 December, to assess the damage caused by unprecedented flooding and rainfall in four southern districts over the last two days.
As many as 10 people have lost their lives in the record rainfall that occurred on 17 and 18 December wreaking havoc in several parts of Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Tenkasi, and Kanniyakumari districts.
Kayalpattinam (a municipality in the Tuticorin district) received the highest amount of 1,192 mm of rain in two days, while Tiruchendur received 916 mm.
Chief Minister MK Stalin, who was supposed to inspect the flood-hit regions on Wednesdsay, would visit on Thursday, 21 December, the government said.
Ahead of his meeting with the Prime Minister, Stalin told reporters that he would visit Tuticorin and Tirunelveli districts on Wednesday.
However, an official release issued on Tuesday night said as local administrations were expected to be present in the affected districts owing to the central team’s visit on Wednesday, the Chief Minister would arrive in Madurai on Wednesday night. He is expected to visit Tuticorin on Thursday, the release said.
Chief Minister Stalin met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday, 19 December, and sought an interim relief of ₹2,000 crore for rain-battered districts to bolster ongoing rescue efforts.
The Central and state government agencies, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Disaster Response Force and SDRF are currently engaged in relief and rehabilitation works.
Nine helicopters along with 323 boats were also involved in the rescue operation.
In such districts, National Disaster Response Force’s (200 personnel) eight teams have been stationed and two more NDRF teams are set to be deployed.
Nearly 7,500 people belonging to 1,545 families have been housed in 84 relief centres, such as schools and marriage halls, and 84 boats are in use for rescue purposes.
All the 809 train passengers stranded at the heavily flooded Srivaikuntam near Thoothukudi in southern Tamil Nadu were rescued on Tuesday, the Southern Railway said.
By Tuesday evening, out of the 809 passengers, 509 people were evacuated from the Srivaikuntam Railway Station.
They were taken by buses to Vanchi Maniyachchi Railway Station from where a special train is set to take them to Chennai.
Of the 300 other train passengers who were accommodated at a school in Srivaikuntam, 270 passengers moved out on their own as most of them belonged to nearby places.
As floodwaters gushed into residential neighbourhoods and roads, houses were inundated and people were marooned.
At Seevalaperi in Tirunelveli, residents huddled on the terrace of a few two-storeyed houses. Similar was the scene at Meenakshipuram in Tirunelveli.
Over 100 houses at Nesavalar Colony in Nagercoil were inundated and they were evacuated by the authorities and sent to relief centres. Several residents said they have never seen such extremely heavy rainfall and flooding.
Vehicles parked near the bus terminus areas went underwater. Though there was a respite from rains in some areas, the release of surplus water from dams continued, also contributing to water logging.
In a residential colony near Rajapalayam, an elderly woman was feared dead in a rain-related incident. Rivers, including the Thamirabarani, are in spate.
Access to villages such as Oothu was cut off as roads overflowed with flood water. Roads including the Kovilpatti-Kayatharu-Thevarkulam road were flooded. Lake bunds breached in a string of areas including Iravipudur in Kanyakumari adding to the flood woes.
On Monday, 18 December, Southern Railway announced traffic suspension on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur section, between Srivaikuntam and Seydunganallur, as the ballasts had been washed away in floods and the tracks were “hanging”, with water flowing over them.
Meanwhile, the Southern Railway has cancelled nearly 19 trains due to waterlogging in the rain-affected districts on Wednesday while rail traffic through Tirunelveli attained normalcy after the Tirunelveli yard was declared fit for train movement.
The local administrations of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin, the worst affected districts, are taking all measures to ensure supply of essentials while electricity connections to residences and commercial establishments are expected to be completely restored in a day or two.
(With PTI inputs)
