Chennai is getting a lot of help after the floods, but what about Thoothukudi?

The collector has to file the action taken report on January 28.
Chennai is getting a lot of help after the floods, but what about Thoothukudi?
Chennai is getting a lot of help after the floods, but what about Thoothukudi?
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The Tamil Nadu government announced on Monday that it has given Rs 700 crore as flood relief to about 1.4 million families affected by the Chennai floods but the people of Thoothukudi are still left in the lurch.

Pushparayan, an activist based in Thoothukudi said, "The collector issued a statement on Tuesday that Rs 16 crore has been allocated by the government towards relief in the district, but we cannot see much on the ground. Several areas like Muthammal colony, Sundaravelpuram, Chidambaramnagar remain affected and waterlogging is still there."

"A lot of the work being done is also not meant to help the poor for their immediate relief, they are working on roads and lakes instead," he added.

However, the Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to assess the damages suffered by residents of Thootukudi district during the recent floods and rains and pay them relief on par with Chennai residents.

Justices V Ramasubramanian and N Kirubakaran gave the interim direction on a PIL by Puthiya Tamilagam president K Krishnasamy, who contended that relief work was going at a slow pace.

The judges suggested constitution of special teams to identify the victims through camps in flood-affected areas and collect applications and verify the veracity of claims before arriving at the quantum of relief.

The Collector could send the details to the state government and obtain sanction for the funds. They also directed the collector to repair roads in the outskirts of Corporation limits for which Rs 8 crore had already been sanctioned.

They asked the collector to file the action taken report on January 28.

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