Tamil Nadu: Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting steps to ensure the safe return of Tamils stranded in Gulf countries amid the Iran-Israel conflict.
In the letter, the Chief Minister stated: Over 1.9 million people from Tamil Nadu work in the Gulf region for their livelihoods. The current situation there has caused distress to them and their families. To assist affected families, the Tamil Nadu government has launched emergency helplines in Chennai and Delhi called Tamil Nadu Home. So far, these numbers have received approximately 2,600 calls, most of which were for assistance in returning to India and information about flight availability from the affected areas.
Due to the current situation, flight services from some destinations in countries like Bahrain and Kuwait have been suspended. As a result, many stranded people are forced to travel by road to international airports in neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Proper visas are a key requirement for their return to India. The central government should provide appropriate facilities for this. So far, 5,256 stranded passengers have arrived in Tamil Nadu via 16 flights via foreign air transport. 593 fishermen from Kanyakumari and Thoothukudi districts are stranded on Iranian islands. The central government should take steps to ensure their safe return.
In the letter, the Chief Minister stated that the Tamil Nadu government will fully support all measures taken by the central government to address this sudden global crisis.
Gas Allocation: Meanwhile, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has urged the central government to reconsider the gas allocation rules for power plants.
In this regard, the Chief Minister has written a letter to Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar: A rule has been made to determine gas supply to power plants based on their electricity consumption over the past six months. This should be reviewed. Power plants operate at lower rates during the winter months. In the summer, when electricity demand peaks, power plants operate at higher rates. Therefore, calculations for the past six months may not accurately reflect gas demand.
Due to the gas shortage, some industrial facilities, including hotels, may switch from gas to electricity. This could increase electricity demand. Therefore, the Chief Minister emphasized that the method of supplying gas to power plants should be reconsidered with this in mind.
