Cyclone Montha aftermath | Andhra Pradesh estimates loss at Rs 5,265 crore: CM Chandrababu Naidu

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister, N Chandrababu Naidu said preliminary estimates suggested that state had suffered a loss of Rs 5,265 cr due to severe cyclonic storm Montha.

Talking to reporters on Thursday, Naidu said as per preliminary estimates the state suffered a loss of Rs 5,265 crore including Rs 2079 crore in agriculture, horticulture , aqua and roads and Rs 207 crore in power and water resources sector.

He said still paddy crops in several districts were water logged and a report will be sent to the central government on cyclone losses. On the other hand ninety percent of reservoirs in the state were full and ground water levels increased at several mandals.

He said that the state government successfully faced the challenge of the Montha cyclone with technology driven monitoring in real time and adopting best practices. He said that he witnessed challenges from several cyclones, but this time he is happy as administration is successful in preventing loss of life and property with advanced warning, alerts and data driven decision making to safeguard the lives and property of people at gross root level.

Chief Minister praised the entire team of officials right from RTGS centre to Village secretariat, ministers, MPs and MLAs said that with a team spirit the state government is able to minimize the cyclone loss and instill confidence among people during Cyclone. He said the officials at RTGS center using data lake guided the officials at field level and ensured speedy restoration of power supply and there was no disruption to mobile services.

He said 602 drones were also used to monitor the water bodies and through a dedicated app of Mana Mitra monitored the usage of drones. He said 1.1 crore alert messages were sent to people on cyclones. Police wireless systems were used for communication in cyclone affected areas.

The Chief Minister said the successful handling of Montha cyclone should be taken as a case study. He said the committed work of both the officials and peoples representatives won the appreciation from people. He said with prior planning weed in canals was removed to prevent submergence of crops during cyclones. Officials cleared the uprooted trees and electric poles in real time and restored power supply immediately. He said the alert mechanism helped to prevent loss to property.

Coming to rehabilitation and compensation, the Chief Minister said rehabilitation centres were set up prior to cyclone warnings and medical camps were organized.