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As many as 19 persons had been killed in the last two days in various rain-related incidents including floods in Tamil Nadu, the government said on Wednesday and announced a total relief of Rs 76 lakh to their families.
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa condoled the death of the 19 persons, most of them from Cuddalore district, and announced a relief of Rs four lakh each to the next of kin of the victims.
"I have directed to pay a sum of Rs four lakh each to the families of persons who died in these unfortunate incidents from the Disaster Relief Fund," she said in a statement.
The maximum casualty of 16 persons was reported from Cuddalore, with 15 of them drowning in flood waters and one killed in wall collapse.
Jayalalithaa expressed her sympathies with the bereaved family members.
Meanwhile, one person, identified as Palaniappan (65) was killed in Tiruchengode in Namakkal district in a wall-collapse incident in the wee hours of Wednesday.
Police said that the wall collapsed due to heavy rain and two others who suffered injuries was admitted to a government hospital.
Various parts of the state received good rain, with Ambur (Vellore) recording 8 cm, followed by Yercaud (Salem) 6 cm, according to rainfall statistics available till 8.30 this morning.
The regional weather office forecast rain or thundershower at many places over Tamil Nadu tomorrow. PTI SA COR Meanwhile, DMK President M Karunanidhi alleged that the government had not put in adequate preventive measures to tackle the monsoon fury as there had been inundation of residential localities and crops in various parts of the state.
He asked why Jayalalithaa, upon her return to Chennai on November 8 from Kodanadu in Nilgiris, from where she had been performing her official duties since October 14, had not reviewed the situation with her officials.
Karunanihi said various parts of the state including Chennai had been affected due to the incessant rains even as crops had been damaged in many parts.
In a statement, he sought a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for persons killed in rain-related incidents and adequate compensation to farmers for crop loss.
He also urged his partymen to work under the leadership of respective district secretaries to do their mite to the affected people and expressed his sympathies with the families of those killed in rain-related incidents.
Meanwhile, the Cuddalore district administration said that it has been taking a series of steps in various sectors including health in the backdrop of the heavy rains.
In 16 local bodies in the district, generators were being used to supply power even as 1000 employees from other districts have been deployed to repair faults and restore electricity, Collector S Sureshkumar said in a release.
About 35 medical camps had been established and medical services were being delivered, he said, adding, Commercial Taxes Minister M C Sampath and Rural Development Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi, both deputed by Jayalalithaa to coordinate relief work, were camping in the district and overseeing the works.