Revenue and Disaster Management Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran on Monday joined issue with his predecessor, R.B. Udhayakumar, on the handling of the floods in Chennai and its surrounding regions, and said people had not forgotten the hardship faced during the monsoon under the erstwhile AIADMK Government.
In a statement, Mr. Ramachandran said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had conducted four review meetings with Ministers and officials on the handling of monsoon, and given suggestions. It was due to the desilting of stormwater drains in the past five months, since the DMK came to power, that there was less flooding on the roads, he said. Rainwater from low-lying areas is being removed using high-power pumps, the Minister said.
He said Mr. Stalin’s government was not like the AIADMK regime, where announcements made by their Chief Ministers, late Jayalalithaa and Edappadi K. Palaniswami, were not implemented and remained just on paper.
He reminded Mr. Udhayakumar that Mr. Stalin had visited the State disaster control room and conducted a review on Sunday, and had nominated 15 special officers to monitor and implement relief works.
“Unlike the hardship caused by the AIADMK government in 2015 by releasing water from Chembarambakkam, this government has constituted an expert committee to monitor and release water. The people will never forget the way your government caused so much damage by releasing water from the lake,” he said.
