Tamil Nadu government boycotted a meeting chaired by Governor RN Ravi at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday to review the rescue work undertaken by Central and state agencies. A communique from Raj Bhavan said that no official from the state attended the meeting. A Raj Bhavan release said, no official from the state government attended the meeting, though a 'request was sent to the Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu', to send a representative to the meeting.
Taking to X, Raj Bhavan said, "Governor reviewed the rescue and relief operations undertaken by Central Agencies and Defence Forces in the rain and flood-affected southern districts of Tamil Nadu today in a meeting held in Raj Bhavan, Chennai. The representatives from Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, NDRF, Railways, BSNL, IMD, AAI and Red Cross were present."
"Nobody from State Govt turned up though requested. The situation is grim, especially in Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli. Central Government agencies have placed their resources at State Government's disposal and are doing so as and when requisitioned by the State," it said.
Stating that Central agencies raised issues regarding the absence of coordination, Raj Bhavan said, "Some agencies raised concern about the absence of coordination and lack of appreciation of the overall situation in the affected districts due to which they have no clear idea about exact resources requirement and prioritization in their deployment. The Governor asked them to mobilize additional standby resources in view of the grave situation."
In a press release, Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan said, "In view of the serious situation prevailing in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu due to heavy rains and severe floods, Raj Bhavan, Tamil Nadu, has decided to cancel the "Celebration of Advent Christmas" scheduled to be held on 21.12.2023 (Thursday)."
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