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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Why were people angry? Many ministers had kept reassuring the people that they would not suffer like they did in the past. The Minister for Municipal Administration KN Nehru had said that the Corporation had completed 98% of stormwater drain work. This gave a false sense of comfort to the people.
While Ministers and the Mayor inspected parts of the city, there seemed to be an apparent lack of empathy on the part of certain politicians. One of the city MLAs went on record saying this was the best the government could do.
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Script and presentation: D. Suresh Kumar
Production: Shibu Narayan
Videography: Shiva Raj
