The cyclone Gaja has ravaged the Cauvery delta and coastal districts of Tamil Nadu. It has caused widespread damage and destruction to life and property. The cyclone has wreaked havoc in parts of Tiruvarur, Pudukottai, Nagapattinam and Thanjavur districts. Tamil Nadu government in its report to the Centre has estimated over 3.7 lakh people have been rendered homeless and over 3.4 lakh houses have been destroyed. According to the reports, the cyclone Gaja has claimed almost 63 lives until now. Many parts of the affected districts are still inaccessible because fallen trees have caused a roadblock. Electricity supply remains disrupted due to fallen electric poles. The cyclone has severely affected the agriculture in the region. Between 60 – 80 percent of coconut trees in the cyclone-affected region has fallen and farmers lost all their crops. To bring coconut plantations will take several years. Someone quoted a Local woman in a village saying ‘our children may not feed us but the tree we’ve planted do’.
According to official estimates, 88,102 hectares of agricultural land were affected in six districts of Tamil Nadu — Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Ramanathapuram, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Tiruvarur — and Karaikal in neighbouring Puducherry. The situation is really heartbreaking for the farmers.
The disaster is so severe that it has been compared to the damage caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami but the media has largely been ignoring the issue. A local leader said, “We managed to save at least 20% of our boats when the tsunami struck, but Gaja has destroyed most of them. The only difference is that we are all safe, and we thank the government for that.” The statement is enough to make anyone realize the seriousness of the issue except for the media. Cyclone ravaged Tamil Nadu is missing from the prime time debates and media attention. In stark contrast to the media attention Kerala received, largely due to the various theatrics of the communist government, Lutyens’ media and Leftist intelligentsia which were less focused on helping the people and more on getting political mileage, and pushing their nefarious agenda to create a divide between north and south. In all this Tamil Nadu has received almost negligible attention.
Meanwhile, mainstream media outlets were busy visiting terrorist nation called Pakistan and writing glowing tributes about its womaniser PM Imran Khan, conveniently forgetting the pain and suffering of people of Tamil Nadu. Some sections Indian media are more Pakistani than the Pakistanis’ themselves. The so-called fourth pillar of the democracy is the most irresponsible pillar of the democracy.
The Tamil Nadu government has asked for the monetary help of Rs.15000 crore for relief restoration and rehabilitation of people after the cyclone and it has also asked for Rs 1431 crore for immediate relief work. Besides the support of the government, Tamilians also need the support of their fellow compatriots. Every possible help should be extended by the people in the form of money, food, clothes and other things in order to mitigate the damage and to bring the things back to normalcy.