Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association members on Wednesday met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who had visited flood-ravaged Thoothukudi district on Tuesday, and submitted a petition seeking early disbursal of insurance reimbursements/claims to industrial units and subsidised bank loans for micro and small-scale industries affected by the floods.
Association advisor S.P. Jeyapragasam said the members told the Minister that the north-east monsoon rains that battered the southern districts had severely affected both small and large-scale industries. With water inundating the units, their machinery and raw materials were completely damaged, leaving their businesses in jeopardy.
The association members requested the Minister to take steps for early release of insurance claims through banks so that businesses could start functioning again. They sought low-interest, subsidised Central loans with long-term instalments for micro and small-scale industries. They further sought subsidised loans for street vendors, whose source of income had been destroyed by the floods.
They also thanked the Minister for her efforts in dispatching the National Disaster Response Force, defence helicopters and boats through the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
