People's Democracy

TAMILNADU

Allot Additional Funds For Flood Relief

Ganesh

THE CPI(M) state committee demanded the central government to allot additional funds to Tamilnadu state government for giving flood relief to the people.

N Varadarajan, state secretary of CPI(M) said that a central team should visit Tamilnadu to assess the damages due to the flood that played havoc on the lives of people living in the coastal districts of Tamilnadu.

In the last ten days, unprecedented rain and cyclonic effect had struck the normal life in almost all the coastal districts and in Chennai. The teams that included T K Rangarajan, MP and Central Committee member of CPI(M) and Party MLAs toured the affected districts and met the people.

Thousands of Party members are directly involved in relief work in various places. More than 100 people have lost their lives and crops were lost in 15 lakh acres of land. Poor people have lost their houses too. Lakhs of people are displaced due to the rain and flood. They are staying in relief camps. Normal life of the people is completed paralysed.

For the relief work, the state government of Tamilnadu has allotted only 100 crores. Two thousand rupees has been announced for those who have lost their homes and one lakh rupees is being given to the families of the deceased. The CPI(M) demanded additional allotment of funds and increasing the relief amount.

The demands are as follows:

• Rupees Five lakhs should be given as compensation to the families of the deceased. Those who have lost their homes should be given Rupees Five Thousand each.

• For all poor families that are affected, fishermen and the people in coastal districts should be given 30 kg rice, ten litres kerosene, two kg sugar and a bag consisting of vegetables along with Rupees Fifty each for the man-days lost. Things like bedsheets should be given to those people who are staying in relief camps.

• Those who have lost their paddy crops should be given Rupees Fifteen Thousand per acre. And other farmers who were affected also should be given compensation.

• All party teams should be formed to oversee the relief works.

• To save the people from the natural disasters, a long term plan should be formulated to have the permanent solution.

• Desilting of Veeranam lake and other lakes in Cuddalore district should be taken up. To drain out the water that is logged in Nagappatinam, Tiruvarur and Thanjavur districts, the government should take up the work of having proper drainage system. The Rain Water Harvesting scheme that was implemented earlier in Tamilnadu should be strengthened.

• The government itself should insure the crops in delta and other farming areas.