Central team visit flood-hit areas in Chennai
The six-member inter-ministerial central team led by Kunal Satyarthi, Advisor (Policy and Plan), National Disaster Management Authority on Tuesday praised the Tamil Nadu government for “doing enormous amounts of work in preparing to face Cyclone Michaung and in the response.
The casualties have been extremely minimal. We appreciate that the government has responded extremely well.”
Satyarthi said this while visiting the rain-affected parts of Chennai. Answering queries from reporters, he said, “We are aware of what has happened in Chennai. Whatever happened in Chennai is not very good – both the effect of the cyclone, stormwater surge, and the stagnation of water – is a matter of concern.”
The central team, ahead of commencing the first day of its visit to rain-hit areas, held detailed discussions with Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena and a host of key officials from various departments at the secretariat. A PowerPoint presentation was made to the team from the genesis of the cyclone and its impact to date.
“I appreciate that the Tamil Nadu government has done an enormous amount of work in preparation to face the cyclone and its response (to the impact of the cyclone). The casualties have been extremely minimal. But infrastructure is much more resilient compared to the floods of 2015. We are aware that the airports opened faster and the power supply and mobile phone connectivity were restored quickly. We appreciate that the government has responded extremely well. We from the central government are here to appreciate that and help the state government recover as quickly as possible,” Satyarthi added.