Jaya demands Rs 4,800 cr aid

The Tamil Nadu government today sought a central aid of Rs 4,800 crore and 54,000 tonnes of grains for relief and rehabilitation of tsunami victims in the state.

Thanking the Centre for announcing an immediate relief of Rs 250 crore, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, in her letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, said the tsunami was an "unprecedented" disaster and normal norms for calamity relief fund would not apply and a special package should be developed.

The damage due to tsunami would "run into several thousands of crores of rupees and will require a more detailed assessment," the chief minister added.

Recalling that the Prime Minister had himself seen the devastation when he visited the state on December 27 last, she said when she had met him on that day, she had informed him that given the nature of this calamity, furious and ferocious along the coastline, the normal norms of the calamity relief fund could not apply and a special package should be developed.