Central team to submit report on Hudhud damage in a week

Visakhapatnam: Minister for Agriculture P Pulla Rao on Friday said the Inter Ministerial Central Committee would submit its report on the devastation wrought by Hudhud cyclone in a week.

Earlier, the members of the committee met Pulla Rao and and other Ministers. The Ministers held a review meeting the committee members.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Pulla Rao said the committee would submit the report in a week. The members complimented the State government machinery for carrying out relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction work speedily, he added.

“The committee members felt that the work we have done to restore normality in a record time should be published in blue book, so that it would become a guiding manual for others facing similar situation,’’ Pulla Rao said.

The Minister said the State government had sought Rs 9,337 crore Central assistance for reconstruction of infrastructure. Regarding damage to fishing boats and poultry industry, the Minister said full-scale compensation cannot be paid under the NDRF rules and hence the State government had asked the Center to amend the rules to help these two sectors.

``We have also asked the committee to recommend to the government to declare it as a national disaster, so that more funds could be allocated,’’ the Minister said.