Flood damage assessment to be over in next 3 days, says Chief Secretary

MADURAI: Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena continued inspecting flood affected parts in Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli on Sunday. He said relief and restoration works are on in full swing.

Talking to reporters in Thoothukudi after inspecting the restoration works in Korampallam tank, which suffered breach-causing flood last week, he said only when this tank is back to normal, water through Tamirabarani river could be stored adequately to benefit farmers. Apart from damages caused to Tamirabarani riverside and Korampallam tank, there are 750 breaches reported in several tanks.

Normalcy has been restored in almost 50 per cent of the flood-damage areas and actions are on war footing to complete the entire restoration works. Special teams from various districts have started an enumeration process to assess damages caused by the flood and the process would be completed in three days.

As announced by Chief Minister MK Stalin, relief assistance would be disbursed to victims accordingly. Further, he said 3,500 houses are damaged until Saturday’s enumeration report. Nearly 200 motor pumps are used to drain water from low-lying areas in Thoothukudi. Drinking water and other essential supplies were being distributed in many flood-hit areas. Special camps would be organised in Thoothukudi to repair vehicles struck by flood, he said.

Out of 175 portions of battered roads, 150 sections have been repaired, he added.

Talking to reporters at Thoothukudi airport, Shiv Das Meena said except for a few locations in Thoothukudi and Eral, electricity supply was restored to its maximum. Almost 80 per cent of the telecommunication network, which’s affected by the flood, has been restored so far. Besides, mobile communication network is made operational with one tower on Thoothukudi Collectorate premises and two towers at Eral near Srivaikuntam until permanent restoration is on.

The Chief Secretary informed that 22 persons in Thoothukudi and 16 persons in Tirunelveli died in the flood.

Earlier in Tirunelveli, he said out of the 101 combined water supply schemes in the district, 70 such schemes were affected by the flood. While 34 such schemes have been restored, restoration is on with the rest of the schemes. Teams are also in job to enumerate cattle loss, he said.