Former Minister blames poor implementation by government for chaos in Chennai

Blaming the DMK government for poor planning of the post-Ditwah cyclone rehabilitation measures and failure in implementation, former Revenue and Disaster Management Minister and AIADMK MLA R. B. Udayakumar said that the flooding and water inundation in Chennai and other northern districts could have been handled efficiently.

Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday, he said that normally, the government should be prepared from October to face the challenges that may erupt during the northeast monsoon, which extends up to December. Pointing out the flaws in handling the Ditwah cyclone, he said the government slowed down its activities as it was centred in Sri Lanka.

When the torrential rains hit the State capital, the execution by the officials at the ground showed that they were not prepared to face the consequences, he charged and added that in many low-lying areas, communication to the first responders were missing.

When asked about the government’s claim that the storm water drains were ready and that there would not be any waterlogging, he didn’t wish to be drawn into politics at this juncture. The people would know for themselves about the reality and the claims.

Since the last three days, many zones, especially North Chennai remained under water or there were complaints of stagnation. Close monitoring of each zone with senior officials led by a Monitoring Officer would have solved the hardships faced by the common man.

The former Minister said that during their regime, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the then Chief Minister, had insisted on identification of low-lying areas in the beginning itself. “This helped us to give more attention to those areas. The readiness helped in moving people in distress to the relief centres swiftly”, he recalled.

The AIADMK, he said, was not interested in finding fault with the official machinery at such a juncture, but, when people were suffering, as a responsible opposition party, they had to draw the attention of the government. With Mr Palaniswami having directed the partymen to help the needy people, he said that they have begun to provide assistance in many districts.

Insufficient relief

Responding to the relief of ₹20,000 per hectare for agricultural crops announced by the DMK government, which had been damaged due to rains in October, Mr Udayakumar said that it was miniscule sum. When a farmer had spent ₹30,000 per acre, such paltry sum as relief would in no way help the ryots.

Apart from the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, a large area in delta districts had submerged under water. The officials should take steps on a war-footing to drain the water and pump them first, which may help save the standing crop to some extent.

Secondly, he said that the government should expedite the process of getting claims to the farmers from the insurance companies without delay. This money would help the farmers to start preparing for the next season. Thus, other than the government relief, the claims should also be settled at the earliest.

He recalled that during the AIADMK regime, they had got nearly ₹11,000 crore as claims from insurance companies to the farmers during such a natural calamity especially when Gaja cyclone hit the State.