Vijayawada:Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has urged the Centre to provide immediate financial assistance to Andhra Pradesh for relief and rehabilitation following the cyclone Murasu hit.
He said stronger and more resilient infrastructure was needed to minimise recurring cyclone damage.
Addressing a seven-member Central team through a virtual meeting on Sunday after its field inspections in cyclone-affected areas, Naidu urged it to submit its damage assessment report to the Centre within 10 days. The state government has estimated the overall damage at `2,484.43 crore.
Naidu said the impact of El Nino, coupled with two cyclones hitting the state within a short period, had caused extensive damage.
The team, headed by joint secretary to home ministry, Chittaranjan Das, split into two groups and inspected nearly 60 locations in the Bapatla, Palnadu, Eluru and East Godavari districts. It assessed damage to agricultural fields, canals, roads, houses, irrigation infrastructure and fishing boats.
The team visited Bapatla, Jammalapalem, Chirala, Chinnaganjam, Parchur, Nidamarru, Unguturu, Chilakaluripet and Gauripatnam, among other places. Its members interacted with farmers at Surappagudem in Bhimadole mandal and inspected drainage systems and paddy fields at Ravulapalem, the Kommu canal and damaged infrastructure at Kunakalamarri.
Naidu said the government had anticipated the cyclone and initiated precautionary measures in advance. Restoration work was taken up on a war footing, with road connectivity, electricity and mobile networks restored within 24 hours. Additional ration supplies were distributed, and steps were being taken to ensure early insurance assistance to farmers who suffered crop losses.
He said coastal Andhra Pradesh required long-term investment in resilient infrastructure to withstand frequent cyclones.
The central team reported extensive damage to rural roads due to flash floods, electricity poles and non-permanent houses. It suggested distributing ration supplies three times within 30 days, providing pre-school uniforms to children in government schools and extending special assistance to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
The team also recommended higher compensation for farmers practising organic and natural farming. It observed that cotton farmers had reportedly avoided crop insurance due to high premiums for commercial crops.
According to the team’s assessment, cyclone Murasu caused worse damage in East Godavari than cyclone Arnab because of heavy rainfall. Paddy losses were estimated at up to 80 per cent in East Godavari and 90 per cent in Eluru. Mango and papaya plantations suffered the maximum damage among horticultural crops.
The state government’s assessment put the total damage at Rs 2,484.43 crore. Crops over 1,43,617 hectares were damaged, causing losses of Rs 874.97 crore and affecting 1,86,063 farmers. Horticultural crops across 6,756 hectares suffered damage estimated at Rs 337.10 crore, affecting 12,605 farmers.
Road infrastructure suffered losses of `888.84 crore, with 1,385km of roads, 36 road locations and 65 culverts damaged. Another 114 rural roads covering 220km were affected. As many as 369 irrigation sources were affected, with breaches reported at 509 locations.
The power sector reported damage to 10,192 11-KV poles, 6,442 low-tension poles and 1,448 distribution transformers. A total of 3,859 houses, including 645 huts, were damaged. Emergency response and relief expenditure was estimated at `37 crore.
Damage was also reported in the healthcare, fisheries, municipal administration, women and child welfare, rural development, drinking water, school education, animal husbandry and handloom sectors.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
