TN CM urges railway minister to waive freight charges on relief material

The Tamil Nadu government Friday urged the Railway Ministry to waive freight charges for relief material meant for cyclone Gaja affected districts in the state.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami wrote to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, saying this "has been done in the case of recent Kerala floods."

"I request the Railways to waive the freight charges collected from donors for the relief materials sent to the stations in disaster-affected areas addressed to the District

Collectors, as has been done in the case of recent Kerala floods," Palaniswami said in his letter to Goyal.

He told the Union Minister that seeing the plight of the 'hapless victims,' relief material were being mobilised from all over the country.

He said the cyclone, which crossed the Tamil Nadu coast on November 16, has 'devastated' the affected districts, with people having lost their homes, livestock, plantation and

livelihood.

Cyclone 'Gaja' had crossed the Tamil Nadu coast early on November 16 between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam, about 300 km from Chennai. It left behind a trail of destruction in Nagapattinam district and also in several other districts.

The cyclone has claimed 63 lives, with Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and Pudukottai being the worst affected districts.