A seven-member Central Committee inspected the flood-ravaged Thoothkudi district along with Collector G. Lakshmipathi on Friday.
As the coastal district experienced unprecedented downpour on December 17 and 18, over 50 people and over a lakh cattle and poultry were killed while 7,500 houses were damaged. The torrential rain also damaged standing crop on over 1.42 lakh hectares and also affected the micro, small and medium industries.
Even though a four-member Central Committee visited the flood-affected areas recently, they could not arrive at the exact quantum of damage due to water stagnation at several places. Hence, a 7-member team, led by National Disaster Management Commission Advisor K. P. Singh, visited the district again on Friday.
They had a preliminary discussion with Commissioner for Revenue Administration S. K. Prabhakar, Additional Commissioner G. Prakash, Director of SIPCOT K. Senthil Raj, Corporation Commissioner C. Dinesh Kumar and the Collector. Later, the members, who were divided into two teams, visited the affected areas including Thoothukudi – Tirunelveli 4-lane national highway at Anthoniyarpuram, Murappanadu drinking water pumping station, farms that were damaged, Srivaikundam Government Hospital, damaged houses at Ponnankurichi, Kadambakulam, destroyed brick kiln, damaged power transmission towers at Vaazhavallaan and units that suffered loss in Eral,.
They also inspected the damages within Thoothukudi by visiting Athi Parasakthi Nagar, Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospital, Maappillaiyoorani, Uppar Odai, Aththimarappatti and surrounding areas.
The Central team members also interacted with the affected locals while the Tamil Nadu Government officials handed over photos and videos detailing the quantum of damage.
“Based on the report to be submitted by the Central Team, the Union Government will allocate funds for relief and rehabilitation works in Thoothukudi district,” the officials said.
