Chennai-based residents originally hailing from Kanniyakumari claimed that post Cyclone Ockhi, work on restoration of infrastructure has been delayed, urging the State government to speed up the process of enumeration of the dead so that compensation could be provided to families at the earliest.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, the residents said the disaster was severe because of large scale damage to the Western Ghats caused by quarrying and the development of new infrastructure projects without environmental due diligence.
“The destruction of organised farming has been complete — banana cultivation, rubber plantation and paddy farming — with serious livelihood consequences for thousands of people,” said Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj.
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“The famed Suchindram Temple and around 100 villages got flooded mainly because of the six laning of the national highway without basic regard to the watershed systems and topography. Residents had to dig up the highway to mitigate the situation,” he said.
‘Govt. was unprepared’
Pointing to the lack of disaster preparedness by the government agencies, they said the government should train residents in disaster management to cope with such calamities. They urged the government to prevent fleecing of residents by commercial agencies to cut trees, recharge mobile phones and fill water tanks.
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They said that post Ockhi, 25 fishermen in the district had been confirmed dead, and more than 200 were missing.
Even as reports of acute drinking water shortage and food supplies are pouring in, the restoration of power supply infrastructure was the most important challenge in the district.
They also urged the government to award compensation of ₹25 lakh to each of the families of those who lost their lives.