To be fair to the government, before the cyclone hit, they were well prepared for it. The government posted NDRF and SDRF teams along eight coastal districts in north Tamil Nadu. The government handled the release of water from reservoirs extremely well, which ensured that Chennai did not face the kind man-made disaster that happened in December 2015.
But when the cyclone did hit, the fault-lines of the government stood exposed. People, who had a sense of comfort that they wouldn’t be immobilised this time, looked on helplessly. It was an extraordinary situation, no doubt, but it also demanded an extraordinary response.
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