Naidu puts Montha loss at Rs.5,265 crore

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said Cyclone Montha has caused extensive damage to communication facilities, agriculture fields and private properties and put the preliminary loss estimated at Rs.5,265 crore.

Stating that continuous monitoring as part of real-time governance with the support of his Cabinet colleagues and the official machinery they could make the loss to life and properties at bare-minimum. He put the loss suffered to the agriculture sector at Rs.829 crore.

The Roads and Buildings Department suffered a huge loss due to continuous rains and gales that lashed the coastal areas mainly in the Godavari districts. The loss to the department is estimated at Rs.2079 crore. He said they were successful in containing the loss to the irrigation facilities. He said there was no paddy loss in Nellore district.

Naidu, who earlier visited the affected areas, said the contingency plan prepared by the government helped a lot in evacuating people from the vulnerable areas. He said restoration of power supply and other facilities is being done on a war-footing. The Health Department is also taking steps to prevent spread of communicable diseases. Deployment of drones also fetched good results, he said adding the government is keen on integrating all available technologies for effective management.

Having a dig at YSRCP, he found fault with tem for criticising instead of recognising the scientific basis in which the official machinery tackled the cyclone threat.