Central Official Says AP’s System Of Dealing With Cyclone Can Be A Model For Other States
A team of officials from various union ministries visited the cyclone-affected areas of Kakinada district on Sunday: Reports
KAKINADA: Union Home ministry joint secretary Chittaranjan Das has praised the precautionary measures taken by Andhra Pradesh ahead of Cyclone Arnab as well as the technological measures adopted by AP in dealing with the aftermath.
The top official went on to observe that AP’s strategies could as well become a model for other states.
Following the cyclone, Chittaranjan Das has led a central inter-ministerial team consisting of senior officials from Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Union Ministry of Finance, Union Ministry of Power, and Central Electricity Authority to inspect the damage and study the precautionary measures taken. The team visited the cyclone-affected areas of Kakinada district on Sunday.
The union joint secretary appreciated that the district administration has adopted best practices in disaster management and taken initiatives that proved beneficial to the people, in particular the technology-driven monitoring and coordination system implemented through the RTGS (Real Time Governance Society).
Chittaranjan Das remarked that such practices could serve as a model for other states in the country, encouraging their respective governments to adopt similar approaches.
Kakinada district collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad explained how the district administration prepared ahead of Cyclone Arnab and how losses have been minimised. The union joint secretary lauded the technology used by the district administration in being proactive while dealing with the cyclone and undertaking relief operations.
Harendhira Prasad pointed out that agricultural and horticultural crops across approximately 55,000 hectares have been damaged, affecting 86,897 farmers. Further, losses have been suffered by fisheries, power, road infrastructure, and housing sectors.
Later, the central team, accompanied by joint collector Apoorva Bharat and other officials, visited the Viravada village in Pithapuram mandal in Kakinada district to assess the damage caused to banana crops. Farmers informed the team that depending on quality, each banana bunch could fetch between ₹250 to ₹300, potentially generating an income of nearly ₹1.25 lakh to ₹1.50 lakh per acre. The farmers requested the central team to do justice to them.