Rajnath Singh conducts aerial survey of flood-affected areas of Tamil Nadu
Assures people of state that Centre committed to their well being: Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh undertook an aerial survey followed by a meeting with Tamilnadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin in Chennai on Thursday (7th December 2023). In an interaction with the media, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was personally distressed at the loss of lives due to Cyclone Michaung.
He said that the Prime Minister was personally overseeing the response to the present crisis and had also spoken to the Chief Minister. He assured that a central team is likely to visit Chennai to assess the damages.
The Defence Minister said that the Prime Minister had asked the Ministry of Home affairs and the Cabinet Secretary to deploy all resources, human and material, for assisting the people of Tamilnadu. He appreciated the appropriate response taken by the Army, Navy, Airforce, Coast Guard, Met Department, NDRF and all central agencies who helped in tiding over the current crisis.
The Defence Minister said that together there is a constructive response to the situation. He assured the people of Tamilnadu that the Government of India is committed to their well being, a commitment which is reflected in the attention paid by the Central Government during this disaster.
The Defence Minister stated that the Prime Minister had directed the Ministry of home affairs to release the second installment of 450 Crore rupees to the Tamilnadu State Disaster Response Fund. The first installment of the Central Share amounting to Rs. 450 Crore had been released earlier.
Since the problem of floods has been repeatedly witnessed by Chennai, the Government of India has approved a central funding of 500 crore rupees for urban flood management activity under Chennai Basin.
Thanking Prime Minister Modi for the immediate release of the fund, Tamilnadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin said that steps were taken under war footing to restore normalcy and speed up the rescue and relief work . He also pointed out that the damages to infrastructure was huge and appealed to the Central Government to provide 5060 Crore rupees under the National Disaster Management Fund.
