CHENNAI: An inter-ministerial central team to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Fengal in various districts of Tamil Nadu is arriving in Chennai on Friday evening. A senior official told TNIE that the team is likely to inspect the rain-affected districts on December 7 and 8. The officials said the complete itinerary for the visit of the central team is yet to be prepared.
In the normal course, any central team would hold a meeting with Chief Minister MK Stalin first and then move to the rain-affected places. After a wrap-up meeting with the chief secretary and revenue secretary, the team will leave for New Delhi. Since the cyclone has affected 14 districts and severely affected at least half of them, the central team is likely to be split into three or four groups to assess the damage in different areas.
On December 2, CM MK Stalin requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release Rs 2,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund for emergency restoration and rehabilitation works in the areas affected by Fengal and to send a central team to assess the damage. While the union government is yet to say anything about the interim relief sought by Tamil Nadu, it has acceded to the request for sending a central team. The CM has already announced a comprehensive relief package for the rain-affected districts.
The team is also slated to inspect Puducherry (from December 7 to 9) which suffered significant damage to infrastructure and agricultural land. Ahead of the visit, a consultation meeting was convened by Puducherry district collector A Kulothungan at the collectorate in which officials participated. The collector instructed them to prepare detailed reports on damage sustained.
(With inputs from Debjani Dutta @ Puducherry)