Kamal Haasan asks PM Modi to visit cyclone-affected areas of Tamil Nadu

Back from a visit to some of the worstaffected parts of the cycloneravaged districts in Tamil Nadu Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan on Friday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the state and see for himself the sufferings wrought on the people so that the Centre can come out with massive assistance to the stateHaasan who has entered politics recently by floating the Makkal Needhi Maiyam MNM went on a whistlestop tour of a few hundred kms of Thanjavur and Nagapattinam districts and Vedaranyam town which bore the brunt of Cyclone Gaja on Thursday and described the situation there as pitiable and abysmalHe accused the state government of being lax and not making a proper assessment of the destruction of homes and crops in vast swathes of land in these affected areasHaasan questioned the hurry with which Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy rushed to Delhi on Thursday and presented a memorandum to Modi seeking relief of Rs15000 croreIt rushing to Delhi was a kneejerk reaction under criticism from political parties in the state of the state governments inaction he told IANS in an interviewThe Chief Minister should have done more extensive visits to the affected areas and made a proper assessment instead of doing a half day tour before rushing to DelhiThe actor said a visit by the prime minister would infuse new hope in the affected people and galvanise the machinery into doing relief work efficientlyThe cyclone has been a great leveller It has affected the rich and the poor equally without caste and religious discrimination They are looking for succour And the help is slow in coming Food is being given to the affected only once a day and that too the quality is poor he saidThe state government gives an appearance of doing some work but it is confined mainly to highways and main roads where accessibility is relatively easy Power is being restored mainly on the arterial roads he saidHaasan said the two districts he visited were a scene of total disaster with cash crops like tamarind mango jackfruit cashew and palm trees laid waste by the cyclone while the state government was talking of only damage to coconut trees The farmers have to be supported in a big way by the governments to get them back on their feet after the great losses they have suffered he saidHe said while the local officials claim that about 250000 people have been affected by the cyclone his own estimate from various sources put the figure of those displaced and homeless at around 400000The sea has eroded into the towns in various places and at one place 400 fibre boats have been pushed far into the woods by the tidal wavesThe damage has been huge to the fishermen and they needed urgent help to restore their livesHe said his concern was also about the fear of epidemics spreading in these places which the government should attend toHaasan also said there is some kind of healthy competition among political parties to reach aid to the people He expressed confidence that they would cut across lines and help the people and government in a difficult timeHe said activists of his own outfit have rushed 60 truckloads of food and other materials worth over Rs12 crore to the needyCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever