Puducherry govt announces Rs 5,000 relief assistance for Cyclone Fengal-affected ration cardholders

Puducherry: The Puducherry government has announced to provide relief assistance of Rs 5,000 each to all ration cardholders affected by Cyclone Fengal, Chief Minister N Rangaswamy said on Monday.

“Due to cyclone Fengal, Puducherry received 48% rainfall, which was unexpected. The Puducherry government has decided to provide relief assistance of Rs 5,000 to all ration cardholders affected by the cyclone,” Rangaswamy told reporters.

“Additionally, due to heavy rainfall, 10,000 hectares of crops in the Puducherry state have been damaged. Therefore, we have decided to provide Rs 30,000 per hectare to affected farmers. Cyclone Fengal has left a trail of destruction in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. The recent floods have damaged 50 boats, and the government has announced a relief package of Rs 10,000 for their repair,” he added.

The cyclone resulted in extremely heavy rainfall in coastal regions of north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Particularly affected was the Sankaraparani River in Puducherry, where over 200 residences in NR Nagar were inundated. The people living in the area remain stranded as the Indian Army along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are actively involved in rescue operations.

The Union Territory witnessed severe flooding, especially in areas surrounding the Sankaraparani River in Puducherry, where over 200 residences in NR Nagar were inundated. The people living in the area remain stranded as the Indian Army along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are actively involved in rescue operations.

The rescue teams are focused on saving lives, with boats deployed to navigate flooded streets and evacuate affected residents.
Local authorities, including the District Collector and the Public Works Department Minister, are also on the ground assessing the situation and expediting relief efforts.

The Indian Army on Sunday conducted multiple rescue operations across several areas in the city. The rescue operations were conducted in flood-hit areas in the Union Territory, including Krishna Nagar, Kuber Nagar, and Jiva Nagar.

The operations successfully evacuated hundreds of residents from these inundated areas, saving over 200 lives in Krishna Nagar and Kuber Nagar alone.

On Sunday afternoon, the rescue efforts were ongoing in Jiva Nagar, with 30 soldiers deployed to help stranded people. Additionally, the evacuation operations in other vulnerable areas are also underway.

Indian Army troops from the Chennai Garrison Battalion, operating under the Dakshin Bharat Area, were mobilized in the early hours of Sunday to assist in rescue operations in flood-affected areas of Puducherry.

Requisitioned by the Puducherry District Collector around 1 am, a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) column consisting of one officer, six Junior commissioned officers and 62 other ranks was deployed swiftly. The team left Chennai at 2 am and covered a distance of 160 kilometres overnight, reaching Puducherry around 5:30 am.

The team led by Major Ajay Sangwan was briefed about the critical situation in the Krishna Nagar area upon reaching Puducherry. The water level in some localities of Krishna Nagar rose to nearly five feet, leaving residents of nearly 500 houses stranded.

The efforts made by the Indian Army during its rescue operations started at 6:15 am, with over 100 individuals being evacuated in the first two hours.