Central team assures maximum help for flood-hit

Nellore: National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) Executive Director Rajendra Ratnoo has assured that the they would recommend the Central government for extending maximum help to the victims of Michaung cyclone in Nellore district.

After inspecting flood-affected areas in Kovur and Sarvepalli constituencies on Thursday, the 11-member team observed the photo exhibition, organised by the Information & Public Relations department in the premises of Tikkana Pranganam at the Collectorate here.

Later addressing a press conference, the NIDM ED said that his team has visited several flood-affected villages in Kovur and Sarvepalli constituencies and analysed crop and other losses. He informed that the Central teams have visited as many as nine districts to assess the loss. After securing the report from the State government over the loss, the central teams will prepare the final comprehensive report and submit it to the Central government for recommending maximum financial support to the victims, he added.

ED Rajendra Ratnoo said that during the inspection, they noticed huge loss incurred to agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, dairy farms, power sector and housing in the district.

Joint Collector R Kurmanath, RDO Malola, district agriculture officer Satyaveni, horticulture officer Subba Reddy, APSPDCL SE Vijayan, R&B SE Gangadhar, AP MIP PD and others accompanied the central team.

A marginal farmer from Leguntapadu village vented out his grief to the central team that he had spent Rs 70,000 including for pesticides, fertilisers, plugging, plantation etc per acre of banana plantation. He wailed that he shifted from paddy farming to banana cultivation, hoping to get good returns. Saying that he lost Rs 2 lakh invested on three acres of banana plantation due to the cyclone and his family came onto the road, he requested the team members to help him.

At Kothuru village, A Ramanamma told the central team members that her house was collapsed due to the cyclone.