Chennai and the recent floods

[Iyyarooraan]

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We have been naturally worried about our relatives, friends and acquaintances' well being and left to hope for least misery for all. Alas, the media ran pathetic scenes and hopeless conditions so much so that you forgot your people. But I am afraid it is time to talk about the all round failures particularly of the government and corporations. TN had been hit by tsunami before and also prone to cyclones during NE monsoon periods. Yet the preparation or the unpreparedness of the government and the corporations has been striking. For a moment one would have thought that do we need a government. Looks like responsible people had been warned. You might have watched how fast the students in Salem made ingenuous flotable "catamaran" made of heavy tyres fastened to 2/3 bamboo poles, for transporting people from the flooded streets of Chennai while the rescue people were complaining about lack of rubber boats,etc in Chennai. How people rescued them selves from flooded buildings like tarzan. These and many more things not only tell us the spirit of Chennaites and TN people, but also exposes the uselessness of the government. There are many complaints for the unprecedented flooding and all of them will go to the lotus feet of Amma. The calamity exposed there was no democratic government functioning and every one was looking up to Amma, do not know for what. Amma's propaganda or the propaganda on Amma has become so notorious and ridiculous that somebody stuck an Amma's photo on ModiJi's back while he was returning to Delhi after announcing his donation of 1000 crores. Please remember Uttarakhand got many, many thousands of crores,but one of the best revenue earning state TN just got a symbolic relief fund. The misery of suffering will be told by many and the saga of rescuing will equally be heard all. It is all by the people, for the people and of the people of TN.

 

[vgane]

Many people who are disillusioned about Amma's handling of flood do not want to go that extent & fall on the lap of AB group which is notorious for scientific corruption! Sad state of affairs!

 

[mkrishna100]

One of the consolation in the Chennai floods is that the loss of lives was not much as feared as luckily people could relocate to the upper floors or move to other areas . But the damage to the property is very much especially for people living on the ground floors and also to the shops , business establishment on the ground floors of the affected areas . The Rich people and Rich business establishments can recover quickly as they may have alternative source of money for the same but highly affected are the LIG , MIG people and small and medium businessmen who are already struggling with running their day to day life . I know of many auto drivers living in Saidapet area had everything washed away from their homes except for their family , auto ( and in some cases many also had their autos washed way ) .This Rs.5000 provided by the Government will hardly compensate for their loss and also I know of some MIG families ( they are my far relatives in Velachery area ) had all their household articles ( like Fridge , Washing Machine , TV , Sofa ,Bed , A/C , Two Wheeler ,Car etc ) fully damaged by the floods .They could save their lives and are back to their homes after the water drained but if they have to buy all the damaged household items then they have to shell out at least Rs3-Rs.5 lakhs . The problem is they are pensioners and living on the pension and these products were bought when they were in Service and they cant afford to unload Rs.3-Rs5 lakhs from their savings to repair this damage as they have kept it for their medical and other emergency needs . Those people whose Children are NRIs and well settled abroad can expect financial help from their NRI Children but not everyone comes in that category . As regards Insurance Claims I doubt how much they will get and they must be happy if they get 40% of their Claim amount .
The worst are the small and medium businessmen who have been highly hit and their office machinery has been destroyed and apart from getting back to business they have the horror of paying the salaries to their staff ir-respective of whether they are able to recover quickly . This is the segment that is highly hit . Beyond a point we cant expect much from the Government as the Government itself has its term coming to end within the next few months . Only a generous support from Banks ,Insurance Industry , Individuals and Voluntary Organizations and small self help groups can this problem be addressed a bit . Definitely a tough time to all those being directly affected by these Chennai floods . As Citizens of Chennai we had our great & wonderful moments and shared the joy and it is time to share our sorrows and be of help to one another in whatever way to tide over this biggest crisis that this City had faced .

 

[vgane]

JJ has requested Central Government to get Banks sanction up to Rs 5 lacs soft loans for buying consumer goods or personal/educational loans to the affected families..Makes lot of sense!

 

[krish44]

State can raise resources by levying a cess on fuel -petrol, diesel.

Besides tax liquor, cigarette more to fund relief.

Examine other resource raising methods .