VIJAYAWADA: Seeaking financial contribution from the public to take up relief and restoration works in the cyclone-hit Srikakulam district, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development and Information Technology (IT) Minister Nara Lokesh wrote an open letter to the people of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday.
He said the State has incurred an estimated loss of Rs 3,435 crore due to the devastation caused by Cyclone Titli and added that interested people can adopt cyclone-ravaged villages under the Smart Village programme. “To every heart that cares... Cyclone Titli unleashed a trail of destruction in 23 mandals, 1,114 villages, 2,517 habitations and six towns, unlike any previously witnessed calamity.
A State that has already been burdened by bifurcation and running on fiscal deficit has received another hard blow by the cyclone, incurring losses to the tune of Rs 3,435 crores,” he said in the letter.
Observing that the State government has pressed special teams to take up relief and restoration works on a war footing, Lokesh said Srikakulam was a long way away from regaining normalcy.