Tsunami effect: Calamity Relief Fund gets Rs 500 cr more

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New Delhi, Dec 28: The National Calamity Relief Fund (NCRF) has been augmented by Rs 500 crore to deal with Sunday’s tsunami devastation. Coastal Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar islands and Pondicherry are the worst affected.

On Tuesday there were also reports of fresh tremors in different parts of the affected areas. The Union government has urged the states to gear up their machinery to meet the situation.

Many Union ministers have decided to donate one month’s salary to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has appealed to people to contribute generously to the fund and has also requested government employees to contribute at least a day’s salary. Some state governments like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi have announced cash relief for the affected states. Corporate houses have also responded to the call of the Prime Minister.

According to official estimates, 7,400 people have died in the country. The government has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 1,00,000 to the next of the kin of the deceased from PM National Relief Fund. About 40,000 deaths have been reported in four other countries — Sri Lanka, Maldives, Indonesia and Thailand. UNDP has announced an assistance of $500,000 for South Asia, out of which $100,000 is for India. UNICEF is active in providing relief assistance in Tamil Nadu.

India has decided to rescue the immediate neighbours which are severely affected.

Sri Lanka and Maldives have urged India for help. The Sri Lankan government has requested for naval assistance to take its ships to Indian coast. India has despatched four naval ships with relief assistance to Trincomali and Colombo.

One ICG Donier aircraft from Thiruvananthapuram has been sent to Maldives to assess the damage. India is air-dropping food packets in that country. The Maldives government has not been able to assess the actual damage.

Out of 7,400 reported dead in the country, 3618 are in Tamil Nadu alone. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has deployed a ship in Haldia in West Bengal for relief and rescue operations.

The Union government has directly taken up the onus of rescue and relief operations in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Pondicherry, which are directly under its administration.