Chennai, Oct 26: Fourteen people have died in lightning strikes across Tamil Nadu since the onset of the Northeast monsoon, Minister Sengottaiyan said on Monday after reviewing the heavy-rain situation and rescue operations in the Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts with officials in Chennai, IANS reported.
Source: IANS via Hi India
Speaking to reporters after the meeting at the Emergency Operations Centre, the minister said precautionary restrictions had been imposed in the Nilgiris, Kodaikanal and Yercaud, with tourists barred from visiting the three hill destinations and access permitted only for essential purposes.
Source: Nation Press
The review focused on the impact of continuing heavy rainfall in the Nilgiris and Coimbatore, along with rescue work and measures to restore normal life. Sengottaiyan said water that had accumulated following heavy downpours in Coimbatore and the Nilgiris had been cleared, which had helped restore normal life for residents in the affected areas.
Source: IANS via Hi India
The minister also said financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh — yaani four lakh rupees — had been provided to the family of a driver who died after being caught in a landslide in the Nilgiris. The hill district recorded 62 landslips in the 24 hours ending on Sunday morning, as Awaaz Punjab reported earlier from district administration figures.
Source: Nation Press
The figure of 14 cited by the minister concerns lightning deaths since the season began and was not presented as a comprehensive count of fatalities from all rain-related incidents across the state.
Source: Free Press Journal