Jayalalithaa demands Rs 5000 crore for flood relief

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an immediate "on account" release of Rs 5000 crore for flood relief works during a meeting between the two here.
Jayalalithaa made the demand after Modi and she carried out an aerial survey of Chennai, Kanchipuram, Thiruvallur and Cuddalore districts that have borne the brunt of the unprecedented rains in the last few days.
An official release said the Chief Minister requested for an immediate "on account" release of Rs 5000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund.
(REOPENS DEL100)
Meeting Modi at the naval base 'INS Adyar', Jayalalithaa apprised the Prime Minister of the unprecedented magnitude of the calamity that has struck the northern coastal areas of Tamil Nadu.

She pointed out that rainfall in Chennai in November, 2015 was 101.8 cm which is the second highest rainfall recorded since 1918. Further extremely heavy rainfall was received in the first two days of December itself. More rainfall has been forecast. Unprecedented heavy rainfall was recorded in Cuddalore, Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur districts as well.

This grim situation was further worsened by the releases from reservoirs in southern Andhra Pradesh which flow into water bodies and drainage systems in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu.
The major drainage systems of all this water is through the city of Chennai including the Adyar, Coouum, Kosasthalaiyar and other rivers.

Heavy surplus flow of the four major reservoirs of Chennai city, Poondi, Sholavaram, Red Hills and Chembarambakkam has also further inundated the low lying areas in Chennai city.
There has been extensive damage to infrastructure including roads, bridges, water supply and electricity systems, she said.
Jayalalithaa said the state machinery was fully mobilised and rescue and relief operations have been launched in full swing.
So far in the four districts of Chennai, Cuddalore, Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram 325000 persons have been rescued and evacuated, 300 boats have been mobilised, 4327 relief centres have been opened,9,39,030 persons have been accommodated in the relief centres, and 44,55,247 food packets have been distributed.

She thanked Modi for the help rendered by the Central agencies. Nine columns of Army, 24 NDRF teams, 200 Navy personnel, 4 helicopters from Indian Air Force and 2 helicopters from the Coast Guard have been deployed for relief operations.