The Hindu Business Line : Jayalalithaa meets Home Minister, seeks aid

RELIEF operations have been stepped up in the States affected by Sunday's tsunami (seismic sea waves) that has caused great loss to life and property. The death toll continues to rise and has been put at several thousands, with Tamil Nadu being the worst affected.

A number of Union Ministers, including the Home Minister, Mr Shivraj Patil, visited the affected areas while the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms Jayalalithaa, went to the southern part of the State to distribute relief.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and BJP President, Mr L.K. Advani, was in Chennai on Monday.

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Congress (I) President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, are expected to survey the affected areas on Tuesday.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister met Mr Patil at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai this morning and gave details of the destruction caused in the coastal districts. She sought assistance to clear the debris at various locations in Nagapattinam district and rescue people who were marooned in Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts.

To another request, the Union Home Minister assured Ms Jayalalithaa that a special package would be worked out, considering the rare severity of the occurrence and the extent of the damage, according to a State Government press release.

The Navy has launched a disaster relief operation along both the coasts. Indian Naval ships Ranjit, Kirch, Ranvijay, Sharab, Khukri and Khanjar besides all the ships of the naval flotilla of Tamil Nadu have been pressed into service. The Naval and Coast Guard helicopters have been working round-the-clock for reconnaissance operations and relief work, according to an official press release.

The release said that the Air Force, Tambaram, has assigned sufficient number of transport aircraft for the task of airlifting food, cloth and medicine to the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

According to an Indian Airlines press release, the airline operated five flights to Port Blair - three from Kolkata and two from Chennai - and airlifted 593 passengers. The airline plans to operate seven flights on Tuesday from Kolkata and Chennai to Port Blair.

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