Communist Party of India leaders R. Nallakannu and R. Mutharasan slammed the State government for its failure to carry out adequate relief and rehabilitation work in the delta region affected by Cyclone Gaja.
Addressing reporters here on Thursday, Mr. Mutharasan said that while normality had returned to some extent in urban areas, life remained out of gear in rural pockets. Mr. Nallakannu said that both the State and Central governments were downplaying the impact of the cyclone and trying to project as if normality had returned. “Importantly, the government has not done anything on the rehabilitation front to rebuild lives of the affected people,” he charged.
Claiming that the compensation announced for the uprooted coconut trees was meagre, he questioned how the government assured payment of up to ₹ 50,000 for a tree to be acquired for the eight-lane highway project in Salem when it was not able to provide similar compensation during a natural disaster. Mr. Mutharasan said that the party will observe a fast in around 1,000 places across all affected districts on December 18.
The leaders also accused the State and Central governments of colluding with Sterlite Copper to reopen the plant in Thoothukudi. Pointing out that the party condemned the State government when it issued a government order instead of making a policy decision through the Assembly to shut down the plant, he said that the State’s move appeared to be favouring the company.
