Coming under criticism from opposition parties for not being fully geared up to tackle the monsoon, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday said the rains were unprecedented, and the resultant damage had led to suffering for the public.
On her first visit to rain-affected areas in the city since the November rains began wreaking havoc in the State, Ms. Jayalalithaa said that the official machinery, on her orders, was on high-alert and equipped for the monsoon.
“The northeast monsoon occurs during the three months of October, November and December. But the rain quota for these three months have lashed [the State] within a few days and due to this, people were suffering. In such a scenario, the resultant damages are inevitable,” she told the residents of R.K. Nagar constituency.
Addressing voters of Kolathur, Ambattur and Madhavaram Assembly constituencies, the AIADMK supremo said some political parties were trying to politicise the issue of flooding in the city to garner votes during the elections by spreading lies.
Expressing confidence that the public will not be taken in by blatant lies, Ms. Jayalalithaa asked the people not to worry about anything. “I’m here for you. I will support and stand by you. The government is also there for you.”
As the official machinery has already been set to work on a war footing, the Chief Minister assured speedy relief and rehabilitation to ensure normalcy returned early in the rain affected areas.
The government had pressed into service super suckers and big pumps to pump out the rain water from waterlogged areas in the city. On Monday a total of 22,000 food packets had been distributed in Perambur and 20,000 packets in R. K. Nagar constituency.
The Chief Minister inspected Veeraraghavan Street in New Washermenpet, Elayamudali Street in Tondiarpet, Seeniamman Koil Street in Korukupet, J J Nagar in Muthamizh Nagar, Retteri Junction, Madhavaram, Ambattur, Villivakkam, Anna Nagar and Thousand Lights.
