Centre Offers Maximum AID to Tamil Nadu

Residents wade through a flooded street as they evacuate their homes in Chennai, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India. “The Government of India stands by the people of Tamil Nadu in this hour of need”, the Prime Minister said.

With the flood wreaking havoc, Modi undertook an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas of Chennai and its suburbs and neighbouring districts of Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur.

Chennai has received more than 330 millimeters (13 inches) of rain over the last 24 hours, which is significantly higher than the regional average for the entire month of December, Singh said.

The city’s roughly three million residents have borne the brunt of the flooding, with most affected areas being deprived of basic amenities, including food and water. He said that was indicative of an extremely heavy retreating monsoon. “This is unprecedented”, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament after days of torrential rain led to a dramatic worsening of the weeks-long crisis.

In a brief statement that began in Tamil, Modi said he has seen the extent of damage suffered by the state and shared the misery of people of Tamil Nadu.

Chennai: The marginalized communities in the flood-hit areas of Tamil Nadu will find it hardest to recover, an NGO said here on Thursday.

Considering the magnitude of the devastation, the CM requested that at least 10 more columns of the Indian Army and another 20 teams of the NDRF, with necessary rescue equipment, may be immediately sent to Chennai, especially in view of the fact that more rains have been forecast by the regional meteorological department.

Some Malaysians, when contacted, said they were anxious over hotels in the city running out of food and power which were available only for few hours. Most officials are forced to sit at home.

The Chennai Airport will remain closed till Sunday.

Limited commercial flight operations are likely to start on Friday from the Rajali naval air station at nearby Arakkonam, the civil aviation ministry said late Thursday.

Though there was respite from the rains and the army, navy and air force and the National Disaster Response Force worked hard to rescue the marooned and provide relief, the water level did not show major signs of receding.

Experts said haphazard construction work, faulty drainage and a buildup of refuse had contributed to the flooding.

Thousands of private companies staff also joined the students, to take off for the third day on Thursday due to bad weather conditions and non availability of public transports especially in Chennai.

City authorities were deploying bulldozers and bags of concrete to fix collapsed roads and bridges.