Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately make available to the State 30,000 tonnes of rice and 19,100 kilolitres of kerosene for distribution among the people affected by the recent flood.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, excerpts of which were released to the media on Saturday Jayalalithaa said that the State Government was offering food to 19.63 lakh persons and distributing 1.35 crore food packets to affected areas.
The Chief Minister also reminded the Prime Minister that the Union Government has declared the recent floods in Tamil Nadu “a calamity of severe nature’. “The requirement of rice, taking into account the food distributed through the relief centres, distribution of food packets in affected areas and the quantity required for the flood relief package is expected to be around 30,000 MT,” said Jayalalithaa. She pointed out that this requirement of rice would be in addition to the regular entitlement under the Public Distribution System. “I request you to kindly direct the Ministry of Food and Consumer Protection to make a special allotment of 30,000 MT of rice to Tamil Nadu at BPl rates,” said the Chief Minister.
Jayalalithaa said in Tamil Nadu a large number of people, especially in urban slums and rural areas, use kerosene and fuel wood for cooking. Some of the households have even lost their lPG cylinders in the floods.
“Due to continuous heavy rains, fuel wood is not available. The allotment of kerosene to Tamil Nadu is far below the entitlement of the State. Therefore, it is imperative to supply additional kerosene to meet the needs of affected families, particularly those who do not possess lPG connections and those who have lost their lPG cylinder in the flood,” said the Chief Minister in her letter.
She has asked the Prime Minister to direct the ministry of petroleum and natural gas to allot 19100 kl of kerosene to Tamil Nadu in addition to the regular allotment for issue under the PDS.
In her recent letters to the Prime Minister, Jayalalithaa has sought a financial assistance to the tune of Rs17,000 crore towards flood relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation.
The Centre has already allocated Rs1944 croe as an emergency measure in response to the letters of the Chief Minister.