Central team members tour rain-hit Tiruvallur district

Officials of the Central team, assessing rain-related damage in the state, today toured different parts of this severely battered district, which encompasses several suburbs of Chennai.
Three officials of the Inter-Ministerial central team visited areas in Kattupakkam, Kaduvetti and Avadi and witnessed and assessed the damage caused by last month's torrential rains and subsequent flooding.
They were shown the damage caused to the infrastructure including roads and bridges besides dwelling units among others.
The team was accompanied by senior officials of the state government including District Collector K Veera Raghava Rao.
An eight-member Central team arrived yesterday to tour rain-affected districts in the state.

While Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Cuddalore districts suffered deluge, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin were also severely affected by the north-east monsoon rains.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has sought more than Rs 25,900 crore assistance from the Centre for the restoration and relief works being undertaken by the state government.
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Meanwhile, a report from Tuticorin said tension prevailed in some of the flood-hit areas including Maravanmadam and Anthniyarpuram when people blocked the road traffic and picketed the Central team visiting the district to assess the flood damages, demanding immediate provision of basic amenities and repair of damaged roads.
The people also wanted the team to listen to their grievances first before meeting the officials, police said.

However, following the intervention of officials and police they dispersed.
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Meanwhile, a report from Puducherry said an
inter-ministerial team of officials appointed by the Central government visited the Union Territory for assessing the extent of havoc caused by the torrential rains in November-December.
The team comprising N M Krishnan Unni the Superintending Engineer of the Union Water Resources Ministry and D S Arvind, the Regional Director of Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry made field visits and held talks with the farmers hit by the flood and also the house owners who bore the brunt of the havoc during the fag end of 2015.

Farmers apprised the team at Ulaivaaikal in Villianoor bloc of the extent of damage the standing crops suffered.
This was the second visit of a Central visit to Puducherry as one team headed by Joint Secretary to Union Home Ministry T V S Prasad had assessed the damage after the rains in November.
Puducherry government had sent two reports successively seeking a central assistance of Rs 491.9 crores for managing the situation arising out of the rains.
District Collector D Manikandan, who accompanied the team, told