Jaya meets PM, seeks release of flood aid

Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi and sought his immediate intervention in releasing the assistance required by the state government to take up flood relief and rehabilitation work.

The state has sought an assistance of Rs 13,685 crore together with 2.58 lakh tonnes of rice and 43,200 kilo litres of kerosene as an additional allotment for the month of December, a state government release said.

She explained to the Prime Minister that the Rs 500 crore and 10,000 kilolitres of kerosene released earlier by the Centre was inadequate considering the intensity and magnitude of the flood damage.

"While bountiful rainfall in a state like Tamil Nadu is welcome especially after successive droughts in 2002 and 2003, the extraordinary and once-in-a-century kind of rainfall has put Tamil Nadu and its people to immense suffering and hardship," she said.

Unprecedented floods on account of torrential rains in the last two months caused extensive damage to crops and infrastructure in the state, she added.

She also brought to the notice of the Prime Minister on her repeated communications to provide Tamil Nadu's monthly requirement of kerosene for the public distribution system. As against the monthly requirement of 102,000 kilo litres, the state was allotted only 59,800 kilo litres.

The release said that the Prime Minister complimented the TN chief minister and the state government for handling well the situation during the floods.

The Prime Minister reassured Jayalalithaa that the Centre would provide maximum support to the state and he would personally monitor the flow of support and assistance, the release added.