With the huge volume of crops destroyed by heavy rains, the vegetable supply to neighbouring states like Kerala has also been jeopardised…reports Asian Lite News.
The Tamil Nadu farmers who were looking to recoup losses after the second wave of the Covid pandemic, are now staring at an uncertain future.
Heavy showers for the past few days in Tamil Nadu have inundated around 55,000 hectares of land, of which, crops in 3,500 hectares have been destroyed.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister KKSSR Ramachandran said: “Around 3500 hectares of crop has been damaged and this will affect us. However, we have to study in detail to arrive at the total loss and how it will impact the farmers. Compensation and other factors would be decided in the coming days once the rain and winds settle down.”
With the huge volume of crops destroyed by heavy rains, the vegetable supply to neighbouring states like Kerala has also been jeopardised.
Sources from Tamil Nadu farmers association said: “There is a dip in supply of vegetables to Kerala and according to a rough estimate the supply has been affected by more than 60 per cent. How these losses can be recovered is a million-dollar question.”
The Tamil Nadu farmers who were looking to recoup losses after the second wave of the Covid pandemic, are now staring at an uncertain future.
Secretary of vegetable farmers association in Chengalpattu, Selva Ganapathy, said: “The farmers of Tamil Nadu were slowly looking up after the pandemic but now the sudden rains have thrashed all our expectations. We are now staring at huge debts and don’t know when we will get some meager compensation. The Revenue Minister has already stated that the government would assess the damage to the crops after the rains settle down and we are expecting that the government would compensate us in a better manner.”
Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin has announced that his government would support and take care of all the people who have been impacted by the torrential rain.
75,000 police personnel ready
A total of 75,000 police personnel drawn from local police, armed reserve, Tamil Nadu Special Police and Home Guards gave been kept ready in the wake of heavy rains lashing Chennai and adjoining districts, Tamil Nadu Director General of Police C. Sylendra Babu said on Thursday.
250 special teams of police have been deployed along with the 350 personnel of the Coastal security group with rescue boats, he said in a statement.
Several areas in Chennai including Kolathur, the constituency of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin are inundated. People from low-lying areas have been evacuated.
State Disaster Response Force with rescue boats, wood cutting machines, and drilling machines have also been deployed.
Meanwhile, almost the entire South Chennai area has reported power failure mostly due to cable fault and feeder trappings, a statement from the The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) said. In several places, Tangedco has shut down the service as a precautionary measure.
Tripping in the main feeder from the Perungadi substation has caused power cuts in areas served under the Information technology corridor, it said.
Velachery, Anakaputhur, Shankar Nagar in Pammal, Basant Nagar, Taramani, and Adayar have been shut down of power as a precautionary measure due to waterlogging and inundation.
Several families from T- Nagar, Alwarpet, West Mambalam areas have shifted to business hotels in the city following long power cuts and waterlogging. Internet failure at homes has also led to people shifting stay to hotels.
Manonmani. G, a software engineer at West Mambalam, said that she shifted her family to a business hotel after the overhead tanks dried up following power shortage. She said,” With rains and power cuts predicted this week, we will stay at the hotel and return home only after the water recedes. We have taken two rooms and are comfortable now and I can work with internet functioning smoothly.”
People are willing to shell out as much as Rs 3,000 to 4,000 for a comfortable stay and with availability of food, most are treating this as a vacation from the daily routine.
K.P. Ramakrishnan, a software consultant said, “We are at least lucky that we can get a room at a price of Rs 3,000 to 4,000. This has helped us survive the rains and power cuts and lack of water at our apartment. More than this I am catering to clients in US and UK and if the internet is disrupted my work is affected. As far as my parents, wife, and children are concerned they are enjoying a vacation. So it’s comfortable and we will have to deal with the rain-affected issues after water recedes.”
TN announces compensation
Tamil Nadu State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran has announced a financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the families of those who lost their lives during the heavy rains in the state.
The Minister assured that the bereaved families will receive a cheque in a week.
According to the Revenue and Disaster Management Department of the state, 14 people died during the incessant rains and waterlogging.
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said that farmers who have lost more than 33 per cent of their crop would receive compensation.
The government has constituted a team of ministers to study the losses suffered by farmers as about 1.45 lakh acres of crop has been damaged due to the heavy rains in delta districts.
More than 250 people were shifted from state government hospitals in Chennai.
According to the fire and rescue teams and the Water Resources Department officials, it would take a few more days for Chennai to return to normalcy.
The IMD has predicted that the rain will decrease in many parts of the state but in the Nilgiris, Kanyakumari, Vellore, Ranipet, and Coimbatore districts, heavy downpours are predicted for a few more days.
As many as 185 relief camps are functioning in the state for rain-affected people as most of the low-lying areas in several districts are inundated. In Chennai and the adjoining areas, 44 relief camps are functioning.
Eleven teams of the NDRF, eight companies of the SDRF, fire, and rescue personnel, and police have been deployed to remove uprooted trees and clear waterlogging.
Officials from the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited are trying to restore power in many parts of the state.
Ramachandran said: “NDRF, SDRF, fire and rescue personnel and police are working in tandem to restore normal life in state. The government is prepared to meet any exigencies.”
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