To restore basic facilities and provide immediate relief to those affected by Cyclone Gaja, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court spelt out directions to the State and the Centre on Tuesday.
Passing an interim order on public interest litigation petitions seeking a direction to expedite relief measures, a Division Bench of Justices K.K. Sasidharan and P.D. Audikesavalu directed the State to ensure milk, bread, drinking water and other essentials are supplied even to interior areas.
Expressing concern over the non-availability of drinking water, the court directed District Collectors to provide generators to village panchayats to pump water and supply to the local people.
Water shall be supplied in tankers to all villages, municipal and panchayat included. The concept of ‘common kitchen’ should be encouraged till normality is restored, the court said.
The services of anganwadi and noon-meal workers can be used for preparing food and sanitation work.
Taking into account the plight of women affected by the cyclone, the court said that sanitary napkins must be supplied to women under the supervision of the Social Welfare Department. Medical camps must also be conducted. Health Department must deploy medical officers and para medical staff at the health centres in the affected areas.
Relief centres
In order to curb the outbreak of diseases like dengue and swine flu mosquito nets must be provided to those living without electricity, the court said.
In a bid to decentralise distribution of relief materials, the court directed the District Administration to open more relief centres, particularly in the rural areas. Taking cognisance of status reports filed by the State noting that 64,978 and 30,352 huts were partially and fully destroyed, the court said efforts must be made to build multi hazard resistant houses with assistance from the Centre.
The court said the State’s compensation for the loss of coconut trees and other crops was grossly inadequate and observed that it could be enhanced. It also directed the State to extend the last date for submission of applications for NEET examination so that students from Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam were given additional time.
Similar extension must be given to paddy farmers as the payment of premium under the Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance Scheme was due, the court said.
