Chennai: Armed with memorandum on relief and rehabilitation in the aftermath of Cyclone Vardah, DMK MLAs from the city and suburbs were on Wednesday not allowed to attend a meeting between Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and a high-level team from the Centre on the issue.
Later, the DMK MLAs met the team led by Praveen Vashistha, joint secretary (LWE), Union home ministry, separately and handed over copies of memorandum, which detailed the damage caused due to the devastating cyclone that claimed 18 lives. In the memorandum, the DMK MLAs gave specific details about the number of electric poles that were uprooted in their constituencies and the extent of damage to power lines.
“We were not allowed to enter the meeting between the CM and the Central team. However, we had a meeting later with the team and asked them to carry out an in-depth assessment of the damages and submit a report to the Home Ministry based on which the quantum of relief will be fixed,” Saidapet MLA Ma Subramanian said.
Thirteen DMK MLAs who represent constituencies in Chennai and its suburbs met the Central team after they were not allowed to attend the meeting. Sources said it was a restricted meeting between the TN Government and Union officials and participants’ list was decided much earlier.
