KAKINADA: An inter-ministerial Central team led by Chittaranjan Dash, Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, arrived in Kakinada on Sunday to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Arnab and review relief and rehabilitation efforts.
The team comprised Prashant Armorikar, Additional Commissioner in the Union Ministry of Agriculture; Himalaya Garg, Assistant Director in the Ministry of Finance; Pranay Garg, Deputy Director in the Ministry of Power; and APSDMA Managing Director (MD), Prakhar Jain, among others.
Chittaranjan Dash said the visit aimed to assess ground realities in affected areas, estimate the extent of the damage and review the district administration’s relief and rehabilitation measures. He said the team would submit a report to the Central Government based on its findings.
He recommended highlighting the district’s best practices, particularly the Real-Time Governance Society’s (RTGS) technical monitoring and coordination system, in the report. He noted that such innovative approaches could serve as models for other States.
Officials informed the team that they had identified 54 vulnerable coastal villages and fishing settlements in advance and prepared plans.
Following warnings received from October 24, the administration imposed a fishing ban from October 25. It deployed NDRF and SDRF teams and evacuated 11,847 people to 63 relief centres.
The cyclone damaged crops across 55,000 hectares, including 53,878 hectares of paddy, affecting 86,897 farmers.
The storm also damaged 579 fishing boats, 1,044 nets, 1,588 electricity poles, 222 transformers and around 214 km of power lines. The team later visited West Godavari and also inspected the Uppada coast and fishing harbour. Joint Collector Apurva Bharat said eligible farmers would receive compensation of Rs 35,000 per hectare as per government norms.