2 yrs on, officials destroy Gaja relief material

The lives of over 4.68 lakh people from coastal districts like Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Pudukkottai were thrown out of gear when Gaja struck. The State government had sent relief material which were procured and distributed by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation and the Cooperative Societies. 

However, the stock failed to reach 58 panchayats in Orathanadu taluk in Thanjavur and were stored in Taluk godown and at the Puthur panchayat office. On Wednesday, passers-by at Puthur panchayat office were hit with a stench and they alerted BDO Murugan who came to the spot and found that rice, lentils, edible oil had been rotting. A few rats were also lying dead. 

The BDO immediately instructed his staff to dig a 20 ft pit and all materials were buried. “These materials were the excess of the stock after distribution,” said Orathanadu Tahsildar Ganeshwaran.