An inter-ministerial Central team, deputed by the Union Home Ministry to visit Cyclone Nivar-affected areas in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and evaluate the damage, will arrive in Chennai on Saturday.
Cyclone Nivar made landfall in the northern coast of Tamil Nadu between November 25 and 26.
The Central team, led by Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs Ashutosh Agnihotri, is expected to arrive around 1 p.m. on Saturday and later call on Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami for a briefing and hold a discussion with State government officials.
The team has been divided into two. On Sunday, one group will visit south Chennai, Mamallapuram and parts of Chengalpattu, before reaching Puducherry in the evening. It will visit the affected areas in Puducherry and later parts of Cuddalore and Villupuram districts on Monday, before reaching Chennai the same evening. Agriculture Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi is the nodal officer for the group.
The second group will on Sunday visit north Chennai and the affected areas in Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Vellore districts. On Monday, it will visit cyclone-hit areas in Vellore and Tirupattur districts, before reaching Chennai the same evening.
Both teams will hold discussions with State government officials in Chennai, on Tuesday morning and, later will have a debriefing session with the Chief Minister.
The inter-ministerial team will return to Delhi on Tuesday evening.
The Centre, last Saturday, had deputed the team to visit Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, this week, to undertake on-the-spot assessments of the situation, in the wake of Cyclone Nivar. The Central team comprises officials from the departments of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Road Transport and Highways, Finance, Power, Rural Development, Fisheries and Water Resources.
