Help Gaja-hit Tamil Nadu stand on its feet: Kamal Haasan to Kerala CM

Chennai: Makkal Needhi Maiam president and actor Kamal Haasan has appealed to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to ‘rise above politics’ and extend support to the people affected by cyclone Gaja in Tamil Nadu.

“We urge you to rise above politics and other affiliations to demonstrate a true spirit of human kindness. Being humane is the fulcrum of humanity,” the MNM chief said in his letter to Vijayan, on Tuesday. He said, “human benevolence shines brighter” during such times, and added that the damage caused by the cyclone will take years to overcome. “However, we can begin now and start the process to rehabilitate and restore a sense of normalcy to our fellow brethren,” Kamal, known to share a good rapport with Vijayan, said in the letter.

He also pointed out that cyclone Gaja had caused “widespread damage and destruction to life and property” in the Cauvery delta and coastal districts of Tamil Nadu.” “MNM appeals the Kerala government and its people to come forward and assist in any way that they deem fit to help to TN stand upon its feet again. It is during the times of strife that human benevolence shines, “Haasan said in a letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

“Damage to crops, standing trees and boats is so extensive that the very source of life of our farmers and fishermen has been uprooted,” the actor said in the letter to the veteran Communist leader.

Gaja, which crossed the TN coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam on November 16, had left a trail of destruction, claiming 63 lives.