PM announces relief package, Central team

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today announced a Rs 236-crore relief package for the state, including Rs 106 crore as ‘‘extraordina...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today announced a Rs 236-crore relief package for the state, including Rs 106 crore as ‘‘extraordinary assistance’’.

At a press conference here following his visit to affected areas earlier in the day, Singh said the government would focus on improving disaster forecast and warning systems. He also said a Central team would visit the affected states to assess the damage. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the team would arrive on January 7.

The relief package includes Rs 100 crore as national calamity advance and Rs 30 crore as rehabilitation package for cashew and pepper plantations.

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Earlier in the day, Singh visited Colachel in Kanyakumari district and undertook an aerial survey of Nagapattinam. His visit to the relief camps at Nagapattinam and Vadaktelly had to be cancelled due to tsunami alerts earlier in the day. The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Alappad in Kollam tomorrow.

The Prime Minister said several countries had offered aid but ‘‘as of now, I feel that we have adequate resources to meet the challenge.’’ He said the Government was grateful to the offer of support from different countries.

Singh also sought to clear the air over the conflicting reports on the quake alert issued this morning. ‘‘We took precautions and an alert warning was issued,’’ he said. ‘‘The moral is that we need to develop an early warning system and if necessary seek international assistance in this regard’’.

Singh said the Government was willing to consider all innovative suggestions to provide effective protection to the people from natural calamities, including insurance as suggested by BJP chief L.K. Advani. ‘‘We are willing to consider all innovative measures to provide more effective protection to our population against these natural disasters. We welcome suggestions on innovative mechanisms, including an insurance scheme,’’ he said.

	Villagers block PM’s convoy, gherao Collector

			• COLACHEL: Angry residents of Kottilpadu village blocked the convoy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and gheraoed the car of Kanyakumari district Collector Ramesh Chand Meena on Thursday to protest the failure of relief operations. Villagers blocked his car for nearly an hour, alleging that officials had not visited the village after the disaster struck. The Prime Minister’s car, however, sped past. The villagers then squatted on the road and refused to let the collector’s car leave. Police soon arrived and convinced the villagers to leave. —ENS Story continues below this ad

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran.

In Colachel, the Prime Minister assured survivors that the government would do everything ‘‘humanly possible’’ for the rehabilitation of the affected. He visited the Kaanikkai Matha Church and Ribayi Mosque at Colachel where mass burials had taken place. He later made a halt at the relief camp at St Mary’s Higher Secondary School and consoled the displaced people who have been sheltered there. ‘‘The loss is irreparable and the dead cannot be brought alive. But the damage to property will be compensated and the Central Government is ready to provide financial assistance,’’ he told them.

He said Rs 500 crore had been allocated for rebuilding and Rs 200 crore for construction of houses.

The police said the trio from Chandigarh — Rohan (21), Sumit (22), and Mohit (19) — were dhol players by profession and had procured the weapons due to an old rivalry with local residents.

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