Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday appealed to the people in the southern districts to avoid going out till December 4, in view of heavy rain and cyclone forecast in some of the districts. However, he said there was no need to be anxious, since all precautionary measures were being undertaken, on a war footing, by the government.
With fishermen having been alerted to return to the shores, he said neighbouring State governments had been requested to allow fishermen from Tamil Nadu to land on their shores in view of the weather.
“Since precautionary measures are being taken on a war footing, people need not be anxious about the cyclone. I appeal to the people to cooperate with the government by following the guidelines,” Mr. Palaniswami said in a statement.
He instructed officials of various government agencies to keep the necessary infrastructure and equipment ready for post-disaster and relief operations. “Officials in charge of Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, Sivaganga, Theni, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar must camp and take precautionary measures,” he said.
Nine teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been positioned in Kanniyakumari (two), Tirunelveli (three), Thoothukudi (two) and Madurai (two) districts. Officials and police officers have been instructed to alert fishermen and help them reach safety.
Relief camps
“People residing in areas likely to be affected by the cyclone and those in unsafe habitations have to be moved to relief camps at once as a precautionary measure,” he said.
Surplus human resources, of about 1,000 workers, will be deployed by the Electricity Department in areas likely to be affected by the cyclone, and electric poles and transformers from other districts will be kept ready.
The Chief Minister chaired a meeting of Ministers and senior officials earlier in the day, and reviewed measures being taken in view of the weather forecast.
Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, School Education Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan, Electricity Minister P. Thangamani, Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani, Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar, Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan, Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam and senior officials were present.