Torrential rain continues to batter Puducherry

Heavy rains pounded Puducherry on Friday, putting a brake on rescue and relief work in the Union Territory that has been lashed by torrential rain during the last one month. The Union Territory recorded 8.4 cm rainfall during the last 24 hours, ending at 8.30 am.

Even as the official machinery was going ahead with the task of evacuating people from low lying areas, fresh rains posed a hurdle for them. Some of the marooned people living in low-lying areas were moving to relatively safer places. Large areas have been inundated and over 400 houses damaged due to torrential rains, forcing evacuation of thousands of people.

As many as 173 relief centres are operating in Puducherry and Karaikal region and more than 10,000 people have been so far evacuated to safer places. Lt Governor A.K. Singh had on Thursday visited the rain-hit pockets, while chief minister N. Rangasamy took stock of the situation in interior villages.

The Union Territory government had sought a central assistance of `182 crores. The chief minister had sent letters seeking the assistance to the Prime Minister and also to the Union home minister in the wake of heavy rains during the last one month.