Chennai (Tamil Nadu), December 3: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin shared that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him on Tuesday to inquire about the damages caused by Cyclone Fengal. During the conversation, CM Stalin reiterated his request for a central team to be sent to assess the full extent of the cyclone’s destruction.
In a post on X, CM Stalin stated, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to me over the phone and inquired about the severe damage caused in Tamil Nadu by Cyclone Fengal.” The Chief Minister informed the Prime Minister about the efforts being made by the state government to provide relief to those affected by the storm.
“I told the Prime Minister that the state government is working effectively to assist the affected people. I also reiterated my earlier request for a central team to be sent to conduct a detailed damage assessment,” Stalin said. He expressed confidence that the Prime Minister would take immediate action and consider Tamil Nadu’s request.
Earlier, Stalin had urged the Union Government to release Rs 2,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to support restoration and rehabilitation efforts. The cyclone, which wreaked havoc across 14 districts, affected around 1.5 crore people, flooded over 2.11 lakh hectares of farmland, and caused significant damage to infrastructure.
To address the crisis, Stalin also announced that schools and colleges would remain closed on Tuesday in four Tamil Nadu districts due to the ongoing heavy rainfall from Cyclone Fengal. In the Nilgiris district, all schools were shut for the day in light of the extreme weather.
In a tragic turn of events, a landslide in Thiruvannamalai district claimed the lives of seven people, including five children. CM Stalin expressed his condolences and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s General Relief Fund. The victims, identified as Rajkumar and his wife Meena, had been trapped under the debris in VOC Nagar.
Stalin assured that relief efforts would continue as the state worked to recover from the widespread devastation caused by Cyclone Fengal.