Crops over 53,000 acres, 4765 km of roads destroyed in rains

The North East Monsoon has destroyed crops in over 53,000 acres, 4,765 km of roads and led to the loss of 30 lives, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said here today.
"From reports which have come to us, crops in over 53,000 acres have been affected in the recent rains. We will calculate the exact loss after water drains out of the fields," he said in a rejoinder to DMK president M Karunanidhi, who had claimed that six lakh acres was affected.
Roads upto 4,765 km were also affected by the rains outside Chennai and work was on to repair them. A sum of Rs 60 crore has been allocated to repair these roads and to restore ponds in the state, he said.

As for Chennai, 3,070 spots in 797 roads were found affected, of which 2,025 had already been repaired, he said.
A total of 30 persons have died in rain-related incidents and relief has already been provided to them, he said, adding compensation for loss of cattle, partial and complete damage to houses was also being given.
He also said Ministers have been visiting affected areas and giving relief to the victims.