Coimbatore, Dec. 8
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi. to declare the ‘Ockhi’ cyclone that severely ravaged Kanyakumari district a “national disaster” and extend necessary financial assistance for restoration of the infrastructure that was left in tatters by the gusty winds and torrential rains.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, he pointed out that the district has a dense population of fishermen, with 5,759 motorised fishing boats and 1,229 mechanised boats. Of them nearly 600 go into the deep seas for multiday fishing. These boats had ventured into the sea much before the onset of the depression and hence the alert about the cyclone could not be communicated to them.
Appreciating the efforts of the local fishermen, Indian Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, the CM requested the Prime Minister to direct the Ministry of Defence to continue the intense search and rescue operations along the Arabian sea cost and the deep sea from Kanyakumari to Gujarat and Maldives.
Elaborating the damage caused to power infrastructure, agriculture, road, fisheries, drinking water supply, etc, he pointed out how the Tamil Nadu Government had swung into immediate action to restore normalcy in the district, as well as initiate a detailed assessment of the various damages.
The letter also mentioned that a detailed memorandum would be submitted to the Government of India separately.