CUDDALORE: Education Minister C.Ve. Shanmugham gave away free textbooks and notebooks to students from flood-affected areas at a function held in Ramasamy Chettiar Higher Secondary School at Chidambaram near here on Saturday.

The students had lost their books in the heavy rains. During her recent tour of the flood-affected areas, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa promised to distribute free books to the students, whose mid-term exams were approaching.

Mr. Shanmugham said that in Cuddalore district 1,598 schools were affected by floods, including 140 government higher secondary schools, 52 private schools and 1,406 primary and middle schools, thus affecting a total of 1,15,704 students.

The distribution of books was done in four groups: Standard I and II - five textbooks; Standard III to V - six textbooks; Standard VI to X - five textbooks, five notebooks and two essay notebooks; and, Plus 1 and 2 - six textbooks, six notebooks, and two practicals notebooks.

Mr. Shanmugham said the book distribution would cost the Government Rs. 2,46,34,779 in Cuddalore district. He said flood-relief work was in full swing in the State, and President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had appreciated the effort. Mr. Shanmugham was hopeful that normality would be restored within a week in all the affected places. Collector Gagandeep Singh Bedi said Cuddalore was the worst affected district, in which 383 villages were inundated.

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