Cyclone Fengal havoc: Tamil Nadu seeks Rs 2,000 crore NDRF funds to aid restoration

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday said Cyclone Fengal had caused "unprecedented" devastation in the state and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to facilitate the release of Rs 2,000 crore interim relief from the NDRF at once.

The sum would help the administration take up temporary restoration of damaged infrastructure and the livelihood, he said.

Cyclone Fengal emerged as a Low-Pressure Area on November 23 and caused unprecedented devastation across 14 districts of Tamil Nadu. Initially, it brought heavy rainfall to the districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Mayiladuthurai, the Chief Minister said in a letter to the Prime Minister.

Subsequently, districts such as Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, and Villupuram experienced extremely heavy rainfall. Upon its landfall on December 1, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, and Tiruvannamalai, suffered extensive damage to roads, and electricity lines as wind speeds touched a very high velocity of 90 km/h.

It also caused heavy inundation and damages in the interior districts of Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Ranipet, Vellore and Tirupathur. "The deluge has caused extensive disruptions, inundating vast areas, displacing population and severely impacting infrastructure and livelihood," Stalin said.

Totally 69 lakh families and 1.5 crore individuals were adversely affected by this calamity. Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai, and Kallakurichi districts, in particular, received rainfall equivalent to an entire season’s average (more than 50 cm) on a single day, resulting in widespread flooding and severe damage to infrastructure and crops, he pointed out.

Responding to it, the state government mobilised all available resources to provide relief and rehabilitation to the affected population, the CM said.

Senior Ministers and officers have been deputed to oversee operations in the districts, while 9 teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 9 teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed.

A dedicated workforce comprising 38,000 government officials and 1,12,000 trained first responders were actively engaged in rescue and relief operations.

Relief shelters were established to accommodate displaced families, common kitchens have been made operational and food packets were distributed to those in need. Furthermore, 12,648 motor pumps have been deployed to drain water from inundated areas.

"I have personally visited some of the most affected districts today. The catastrophic event has resulted in a loss of 12 human lives, 2,416 huts, 721 houses, and 963 cattle, besides inundation of 2,11,139 hectares of agricultural and horticultural land," Stalin said.

In addition, damage was caused to 9,576 km of roads, 1,847 culverts and 417 tanks, 1,649 km of electric conductors, 23,664 electric poles and 997 transformers, severe impairment of 1,650 Panchayat buildings, 4,269 Anganwadi Centers, 205 Primary Health Centers, 5,936 school buildings, 381 community halls, and 623 water supply schemes.

An initial assessment of these damages by the state government revealed that an estimated Rs 2,475 crore was required for temporary restoration efforts.

"Despite our best efforts, the scale of this disaster has overwhelmed the state’s resources and the state needs urgent financial assistance to manage the fallout of this natural disaster," he said in the letter.

He further said, "Given the magnitude of destruction and the urgent need for restoration, I humbly request immediate release of an interim relief amounting to Rs 2,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF)." Additionally, a central team could be deputed to make a comprehensive assessment of the damages, so as to enable the state government to seek further financial assistance to address the unprecedented adverse impact on infrastructure, agriculture and livelihoods in the affected districts, he said.