Gaja relief material: Waive freight charges, Edappadi K Palaniswami tells Railways

Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday wrote to the Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal seeking exemption of freight charges on the relief material being sent by trains to the cyclone-ravaged coastal districts of Tamil Nadu.

In a demi-official letter to Mr. Goyal, the chief minister said that the severe cyclonic storm Gaja, which struck twelve districts of Tamil Nadu, completely devastated four coastal districts and severely damaged the other districts. "More than 60 persons have lost their lives. People have lost their homes, livestock, plantations and livelihood. Seeing the plight of the hapless victims, relief materials are being mobilised from all over the country. I request the Railways to waive the freight charges collected from donors for the relief materials sent to the stations in disaster affected areas addressed to the district Collectors, as has been done in the case of recent Kerala floods," he said in the letter, a copy of which was released to the media. The CM sought for an early direction in this regard and said the gesture would be "highly appreciated."

The cyclone had crossed the Tamil Nadu coast early on November 16 between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam, about 300 km from here and left a trail of destruction.

CM orders tarpaulin for houses damaged due to Gaja: Meanwhile, Mr. Palaniswami has directed the collectors of the districts ravaged by the Gaja to provide tarpaulin (waterproofing sheets) to those whose huts or houses have been damaged due to the cyclone. Stating that a total of 12 districts including the Delta districts have been ravaged by Gaja, the CM said the precautionary measures initiated by his 'Amma' government, on time has helped to prevent large-scale destruction of properties and even loss of human lives. "But despite this, the cyclone had destroyed crop, houses, huts and infrastructure. As a temporary gesture I have ordered the district collectors to provide tarpaulin to the affected families," Mr. Palaniswami said. The tarpaulin would be purchased with the funds provided under the CM's public relief fund, through the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation and distributed to the beneficiaries, he added.