The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) on Wednesday held a meeting under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha to discuss the current flood situation in Tamil Nadu.
The Cabinet Secretary took a detailed review of the situation, including the current rescue and relief measures being undertaken by the Tamil Nadu Government and assistance provided by the Central Government for the same.
At the meeting the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary said as of now, they have adequate arrangements and mechanisms to deal with requirements of drinking water, food, medicines, etc.
He also conveyed that the State Government has mobilised a large number of fishermen boats for which services of personnel from Navy and Coast Guard would be required.
The Ministry of Defence was advised to make suitable arrangements for the purpose.
As many as 15 NDRF teams have already been deployed in Tamil Nadu for rescue operations, while it was decided to move seven more teams - three from Bhubaneswar and four from Delhi - for deployment in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Besides, four columns of army have also been deployed and another three columns will move from Bangalore on Wednesday.
The Indian Air Force has already deployed two MI-17 choppers at Tambaram and two MI-17s are being moved from Tirupati to Chennai for relief and rescue operations. Five Chetak helicopters are also operating from Tambaram. In addition, four MI-17 - two each at Bangalore and Nagpur - are on standby.
A detailed review of the situation related to power supply, road, train and air connectivity was also undertaken. Power installations have not suffered any major damage. However, as a precautionary measure, power supply to some areas in the city has been discontinued.
As the Chennai Airport is still flooded, and is not operational so far, it was decided that air fields of Arakkonam, Tirupati, Tambaram and Trichy be utilised for rescue and relief operations.
Ministries of Railways and Civil Aviation were asked to coordinate with the State Government for safe and quick evacuation of stranded passengers. The Department of Telecom has been asked to rectify the damaged telecom towers at the earliest.
In view of the IMD forecast that the rains may continue in South Indian coast for three-four days, departments and ministries concerned with emergency response were instructed to be in state of total readiness and be in constant touch with the State Government for such assistance as may be required.
The State Government projected the need for motorised boats also which are being sent.
The National Disaster Management Authority will coordinate the relief activities on behalf of the Centre. The authority has a round-the-clock Toll Free helpline number 1078 for this purpose.
The meeting was attended by secretaries from various key ministries/nodal agencies, concerned with the emergency response (rescue and relief), such as Ministry of Home Affairs, National Disaster Management Authority, Defence, Health and Family Welfare, Power, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Urban Development, Railways, Civil Aviation, Telecommunication, Information & Broadcasting, India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Chief Secretary and Relief Commissioner, Tamil Nadu participated in the meeting through Video Conference.
