Centre releases Rs 561 cr relief to TN

CHENNAI: A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the areas affected by cyclone Ockhi in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the Central government on Monday released `561 crore as the second instalment of assistance from the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) for 2017-18 to Tamil Nadu to supplement the efforts of the State government in dealing with the natural calamity.

Prime Minister Modi will visit Kanniyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, some parts of Kerala and Lakshadweep islands on Tuesday and review the situation prevailing in the aftermath of cyclone Ockhi, and the status of relief operations at Kavaratti, Kanniyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to meet officials and public representatives. He will also meet cyclone victims including fishermen and farmer delegations.  

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, finance secretary K Shanmugam, who is also holding the charge of the chief secretary, and senior officials from various departments including Commissioner of Revenue Administration K Satyagopal will be present during the meeting to be chaired by the Prime Minister.
Defence Minister visited the cyclone-affected areas in district in TN and in on December 3 and 4.  

The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) chaired by the Cabinet secretary, met on December 4 and reviewed the relief and rescue operations in States and Union Territories affected by the cyclone.
Government agencies from the Centre and the affected States, including Coast Guard, Air Force, Navy, and NDRF were involved in relief and rescue operations. Relief camps were set up in the affected areas.