Just lip-service won’t be of help, disburse aid to rain-hit: Stalin

“Chief Minister and Ministers should not interact alone with media thinking that it was a ‘Nivar’ rehabilitation achievement and instead the government should save the flood-affected people in Chennai and its suburbs, who were suffering without electricity and drinking water,” he said in a statement.

Stating that the government should not also delay the rehabilitation measures citing assessment works, the DMK leader said “special financial assistance should be extended for the farmers, who incurred loss in the flood and for the damaged houses besides providing solatium to the families of the persons, who were killed in rain-related incidents.”

Pointing out that floodwaters, that had entered the houses at suburban Tambaram and Mudichur were not flushed out till now, Stalin said, “even at city areas such as KK Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Tiruvotriyur and including in my Assembly constituency Kolathur the flood water have not yet receded.”

“With the latest reports indicating that so far several lakh people were affected in Chennai, Cuddalore, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore and other districts due to rains, there is no indication that effective steps were taken to rehabilitate them,” he said, “as crops in more than one lakh acres were affected due to floods, the government should also take steps to get the insurance amount for the affected farmers apart from the special financial assistance.”

The DMK president said on the one hand the CM claims that Cyclone Nivar had caused only less damage and on the other he was also saying that the damage assessment was about to begin. “Therefore, without any further delay, the CM should take all the necessary measures to rehabilitate the affected people.”