A six-member inter-ministerial central team led by Kunal Satyarthi, advisor (policy and plan), National Disaster Management Authority, visited flood-affected places across Chennai on December 12 and said that the state government had responded well to the crisis. “We appreciate that the govt has responded extremely well, we from the Union government are here to appreciate that and help the state govt recover as quickly as possible,” Kunal Satyarthi said.
Comparing the damage after the 2015 floods and the 2023 floods, Kunal Satyarthi said that the airport was functional faster, electricity and mobile connectivity was also restored faster. “I am appreciative that the TN govt has done an enormous amount of work in preparedness and response. The casualties have been extremely minimal, it is extremely sad that it has happened. The Infrastructure is much more resilient than 2015,” he said.
He added that residents living near lakes are worried about the water level rising. ”Chennai is a low lying town and that night the rainfall was extremely high, so all the designs of the canals and outlets were impaired and the sea did not allow the water to go inside. We also understand that with the best brains in the country, we are in conversation with IITs and all the institutions. An urban flood mitigation program is already made for the city of chennai , we are also working with various governments of the world to look for a permanent solution,” Kunal Satyarthi said.
The team visited several areas in the city and its suburbs and then addressed the media. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has sought Rs 5,060 crores as interim flood relief from the Union government. He wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for the money to handle the damages caused by cyclone Michaung.