Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep on Tuesday. He will review the situation arising in the aftermath of Cyclone Ockhi, and the status of relief operations, at Kavaratti, Kanyakumari, and Thiruvananthapuram. The Prime Minister will meet with officials and public representatives. He will also meet with cyclone victims, including fishermen and farmer delegations.
Parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep were severely affected by Cyclone Ockhi in late November and early December.
The PM had constantly monitored the situation arising out of the cyclone, spoke to all relevant authorities and officials.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman had undertaken a visit to the cyclone-affected areas of both Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu and Thiruvananthapuram on December 3 and 4. National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) chaired by the Cabinet secretary, P K Sinha, had also met on December 4 and reviewed the relief and rescue operations.
Government agencies both from the Centre and the affected states, including Coast Guard, Air Force, Navy, and NDRF, were involved in relief and rescue operations. Relief camps were also set up in the affected areas. The government has released the second instalment of State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) to the governments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to supplement the efforts of state governments in dealing with the natural calamity.
During the financial year 2017-18, amount of central share of SDRF to governments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu is Rs 153 crore and Rs 561 crore, respectively.
As the influence of Cyclone Ockhi waned after December 5, the Prime Minister had taken to Twitter to compliment central agencies, various state governments, local administrations and alert citizens for showing remarkable preparedness and assisting people during the adverse times.
Earlier, through his tweets from time to time, he had also informed people of all possible assistance being provided to those affected. He had also motivated people to assist fellow citizens in cyclone relief.
