Friday, December 2 2005 18:00 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: President A P J Abdul Kalam today (Dec 2,2005) assured the Tamil Nadu Government of full central support to mitigate the sufferings of the rain-affected people in the state.

The assurance was given to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa when she called on the President at Raj Bhavan here to brief him on the flood situation in the state, an sources said here.

The state had sought a central assistance of Rs.13,685 crore and 2.58 lakh tonnes of rice besides an additional allotment of 43,200 kilolitres of kerosene.

The President appreciated the 'splendid effort' in saving the temple town of Srirangam, which was marooned by floodwaters of Cauvery and Kollidam rivers, it said.

He also praised the 'advance action' taken by the State Government to keep Chennai waterways and storm water drains desilted.

Noting the steps taken by Jayalalithaa for inter-basin transfer of water within Tamil Nadu and the preparatory work done for establishing the Cauvery-Vaigai linkage, Kalam said the proposal was a forerunner to linking other rivers in the state.

Jayalalithaa brought to the notice of the President the extraordinary floods after the rains last month and made a computer-based presentation about the situation, the release added.

Kalam had yesterday (Dec 1,2005) made an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas of the state.