A day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami announced a relief package of Rs 1,000 crore towards the damages caused by Cyclone Gaja, a government order issued on Tuesday, 20 November sheds light on how the money would be spent.
According to the order, Rs 350 crore has been set aside for farmers who have lost their crops to the gale winds of cyclone Gaja.
Rs 205.87 crore has been allocated to provide relief to people who have suffered loss of human lives, cattle and other possessions like clothes and cooking vessels, and Rs 100 crore will be given to people whose houses have been damaged.
While Rs 41.63 crore allocated to the fisheries department will be spent on compensating fishermen who’ve lost their boats, Rs 102.50 crore has been set aside for infrastructure works to be carried out in the districts including roads and waterways.
CM’s Public Relief Fund to the Rescue
The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has been allocated Rs 200 crore to carry out the works required to restore electricity in the regions hit by the cyclone.
Apart from this, the Tamil Nadu CM had also appealed to the general public to contribute to the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund (CMPRF). He has also said that the state government will press for funds from the National Disaster Relief Fund.
Other than the government, many other political parties, individuals and companies have pitched in resources to bring the affected regions back to normal. DMK’s Charitable Trust contributed Rs 1 crore towards relief works and Vijayakanth’s DMDK announced Rs 1 crore for cyclone-affected districts.
Film Fraternity Steps Up
Film production company Lyca Productions announced Rs 1.01 crore towards cyclone relief operations in the affected areas.
Superstar Rajinikanth has promised the distribution of relief materials worth Rs 50 lakh to the affected areas through his fan clubs. Actors Sivakumar, Suriya, Karthi and their families have together announced Rs 50 lakh as donation.
Actors Vikram and Vijay Sethupathi have announced Rs 25 lakh each to be given to the people affected by cyclone Gaja. Actor Siva Karthikeyan announced Rs 10 lakh as donation and relief materials worth Rs 10 lakh to be given to the people in the cyclone-hit regions.
Movie director Shankar also announced Rs 10 lakh towards cyclone relief works. Reports have also emerged that actor Vijay has announced up to Rs 4.5 lakh per affected district through his fan clubs.
Kerala Pitches In
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also announced the distribution of relief materials including drinking water, tarpaulins, candles, dried food items and new clothes to the people of Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts. In his tweet, he stated that the distribution of the materials will be coordinated by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA).
Chief of TVS Motor Company Venu Srinivasan donated Rs 2 crore towards cyclone relief. Sakthi Masala Group as well as the City Union Bank each gave Rs 1 crore to the CMPRF. Nanguneri MLA and Head of Vasanth & Co H Vasanthakumar donated Rs 25 lakh to the CMRPF and the Head of the MGR group of institutions, Chennai AC Shanmugam donated Rs 20 lakh towards the fund.
Cyclone Gaja, which hit the Tamil Nadu coast on November 16, caused extensive damage in some coastal, Cauvery delta and some interior districts. According to latest official figures, 46 people have lost their lives in Cyclone Gaja and more than 2.5 lakh people have been displaced.
270 cattle, 1,181 goats and around 15,000 birds have also been lost due to the cyclone. Around 88,102 hectares of agricultural land have been affected by the cyclone. 86,702 electric poles, 841 transformers, 201 electricity substations and 4,844 fishing boats have been destroyed in the cyclone.
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