Forest Minister K. Ramachandran said that 456 relief shelters had already been readied in preparation for the South West Monsoon.
Mr. Ramachandran, who reviewed the preparedness of the district administration for the monsoon season as well as measures taken to contain the spread of COVID-19, said 42 zonal committees had been formed to monitor rainfall across the district.
More than 2,500 local contact persons were also assisting the district administration in identifying locations where there was a chance of landslips or tree falls occurring, so that residents in the area could be evacuated and moved to relief shelters.
After more than four days of heavy rain in parts of the Nilgiris, the rain ceased and provided respite for local residents on Friday.
COVID-19 situation
Mr. Ramachandran also briefed the press about the COVID-19 situation in the Nilgiris. According to the Minister, the number of COVID-19 cases continued to decline, with only 174 confirmed cases on Friday. He said a total of 2,700 people were being tested each day across the district.
Of the 2,474 available beds, 1,435 beds were currently vacant, while 2.26 lakh people had been administered at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine so far. Mr. Ramachandran said vaccines were being procured to vaccinate the 21,000 tribal community members in the district, while 307 of the 5,429 persons with disabilities had been vaccinated.
Relief handed over
Mr. Ramachandran handed over relief items to ration cardholders as well as ₹ 2,000 in monetary relief.
Ooty MLA, R. Ganesh, Gudalur MLA, Pon Jeyaseelan and officials from the district administration and the police were present.
