PM Narendra Modi spoke to Sri Lankan President Anura K Dissanayake, expressing condolences on the loss of lives and devastation in Sri Lanka in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah and assuring him of India’s continued support to the Indian Ocean neighbour under the ongoing Operation Sagar Bandhu, which has taken up rescue and relief measures for distressed persons.
The prime minister assured that India, in line with its Vision Mahasagar and its established position as the ‘First Responder,’ will continue to extend all necessary assistance in the coming days as Sri Lanka undertakes rehabilitation efforts, resumes public services and works towards restoring livelihoods across the impacted regions, said an Indian readout. In coordination with the Lankan authorities, the Indian govt immediately delivered 9.5 tons of emergency rations from two Indian Navy ships in Colombo and deployed three Indian Air Force aircraft for airlifting another 31.5 tons of relief materials.
Chetak helicopters from INS Vikrant and MI-17 helicopters of Indian Air Force have conducted extensive rescue operations, airlifting stranded people, including pregnant women, infants and those critically injured, said the govt.
“Rescued persons included nationals of Sri Lanka, India, Germany, Slovenia, United Kingdom, South Africa, Poland, Belarus, Iran, Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Over 150 people have been rescued and assisted in these combined operations, which are continuing,” said the govt.
3 dead in TN, Lanka toll crosses 410
Cyclone Ditwah left three dead in Tamil Nadu even as the toll in storm-battered Lanka rose to more than 410 with thousands displaced from their homes. Chennai was spared a pounding after the cyclone’s core collapsed and veered away from the shoreline. TN revenue minister KKSSR Ramachandran said that two people died in wall collapses in Tuticorin and Thanjavur, and one from electrocution in Mayiladuthurai.
The storm’s sudden weakening kept Chennai largely untouched, reducing a feared onslaught to brief drizzle and chilly winds. Ramachandran said 234 huts and houses had been damaged and 149 cattle killed in TN. Crop loss stretched across 56,000 hectares, including 24,000 acres in Nagapattinam, 15,000 acres in Tiruvarur and 8,000 acres in Thanjavur. “Once water recedes, the extent of damage will be ascertained,” he said.
Farmers’ associations in the Cauvery delta urged Union govt to classify the destruction as a national calamity. “Farmers are enduring massive livelihood setbacks and remain in profound mental agony,” wrote S Vimalanathan of Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, calling for aerial, ground, and satellite-based surveys.
As Ditwah curved northward, Andhra Pradesh’s coastal districts escalated preparations. Guntur, Bapatla, Prakasam, and Tirupati activated control rooms, closed beaches, and deployed rapid-response units.