Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday chaired a meeting to review the precautionary measures being taken in view of the onset of the northeast monsoon in Tamil Nadu. He instructed officials to take all measures to protect the people.
“The nature keeps changing. In recent times, the change is quite puzzling. The climate change is severe and we cannot mark a certain period as monsoon or summer. Officials have to realise this and act accordingly,” Mr. Stalin said at the meeting.
He also referred to the heavy rainfall in nine districts, including Erode, Kanniyakumari and the Nilgiris, and said 17 other districts received rain this month. The Chief Minister said the mindset of people should be to face natural disasters and underlined the need for government measures to meet people’s expectations.
The alerts and updates from the India Meteorological Department and other government agencies should reach members of the public and fishermen through newspapers and the electronic media. Officials should ensure the functioning of round-the-clock helplines. People could use 1070 and 1077 helplines.
Mr. Stalin instructed officials to monitor the storage at waterbodies across the State. He also underlined the need for various departments to work together.
Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management K.K.S.R.R. Ramachandran; Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu, Director-General of Police C. Sylendra Babu, Commissioner of Revenue Administration K. Phanindra Reddy, Revenue Secretary Kumar Jayant and senior officials were present.
