Relief work in cyclone-hit areas "not satisfactory": M K Stalin

DMK President MK Stalin on Friday, November 23 alleged the relief activity was "not satisfactory" in the Cauvery delta areas that were ravaged by Cyclone Gaja last week.

The Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly demanded that Chief Minister K Palaniswami convene a meeting of stakeholders from the region to take forward the relief activities in an effective manner.

He also said Palaniswami should stay put in the delta region to oversee the relief work.

"The people in the delta region have lost their livelihood. The relief work is not satisfactory for them. Palaniswami should actually stay there and expedite and regulate the relief activities," he told reporters here.

READ: MNM Chief Kamal Haasan Visits Cyclone Gaja Affected Areas, Dispatches Relief Material Worth Rs 1.2 Crores

Further, Palaniswami should convene a meeting of stakeholders in the delta region--farmers' and political parties' representatives and welfare organisations, and discuss further streamlining and expediting the relief and rehabilitation efforts, he added.

Cyclone Gaja had crossed the Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam on November 16, claiming 63 lives and leaving behind a trail of destruction, severely affecting the farming, fishing and power sectors.

READ: Cyclone Gaja: Tamil Nadu Government Seeks About Rs 15,000 Crores Aid From The Centre

Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Pudukottai districts had suffered the worst damage.

Tamil Nadu government has already released Rs 1,000 crore as an interim measure to aid the relief and rehabilitation efforts, even as Palaniswami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Thursday seeking a Rs 14,910 crore relief package.