Commissioner of Disciplinary Proceedings (Chennai), S. Murugaiah, has urged the heads and officials of various departments to keep themselves prepared to meet situations of emergency till the rainy season draws to an end.
Expressing the need for proper coordination between departments, he asked them to prepare a comprehensive phonebook with contact details of persons from all departments.
Nook and cranny
With more emphasis to check spread of water-borne diseases, he advised health department personnel to reach out to the nook and cranny of the district.
Awareness
Saying so, he felt that it was the duty of health and local body officials to create awareness among the people to boil water before drinking and to chlorinate drinking water tanks.
Mr. Murugaiah was here on Tuesday to conduct a review meeting with the heads of various government departments on the action taken by them so far to meet difficulties faced by people during the rainy season.
District Collector J. Kumaragurubaran, District Revenue Officer R. Seethalakshmi and heads of various departments were present during the meet.
Funds sought
District administration and revenue officials have sought funds to the tune of Rs. 10 crore from the State's Revenue Department to carry out repair works on State highways and roads in the rural pockets that have been damaged by rain during the months of October and November.
The officials noted that the damage caused by the South-West Monsoon (from October 1 to November 26) in the district was minimal, as the district received only 258 mm rainfall – 156 mm in October and 102 mm in November – against the average rainfall of 270 mm.
Money spent
They informed the Commissioner that so far Rs. 4.65 lakh has been distributed to families in the district that have been affected by the rain, they added.
The assistance included Rs. 2 lakh each to the families of Nitishkumar (11) of Oduvankurichi Village near Rasipuram, who died of electrocution, and Moorthi of Sekarapatti Village in Tiruchengode Taluk, who was washed away by the floods.
Remaining fund
The remaining fund of Rs. 65,000 was distributed to the families living in the 16 huts and houses that were damaged by the rain, they added.
