Central team again in cyclone-ravaged Raigad to monitor progress

A highpowered team from different Central departments visited cycloneaffected Raigad district and inspected the villages and coastal areas on Thursday to assess the extent of damage This is the second time the team visited the area after visiting the first time right after the cyclone They will submit a report of their findings to the Central government soonThe team comprised Ramesh Ganta Joint Secretary Admin and CBT NDMA MHA R B Kaul Consultant Ministry of Finance Expenditure NRLK Prasad director Ministry of Power Central Electricity Authority S S Modi deputy secretary Ministry of Rural Development R P Singh Ministry of Agriculture Nagpur and Tushar Vyas executive engineer Department of Road Transport and Highway MumbaiHighly placed government officials informed midday that the team took keen interest in understanding the ground level difficulties faced by those affected by the cyclone and the work done post the damageRaigad District Collector Nidhi Choudhary in green saree with the Central team which visited cyclone affected areas again on ThursdayThe team was accompanied by Raigad District Collector Nidhi Choudhary who appraised them about the damage to horticulture crops coast line school and government buildings electric poles transformers etc due to Cyclone Nisarga and afterState released R100 crore soon after cycloneAditi Tatkare the guardian minister of Raigad district and state minister speaking to midday said I could get an opportunity to discuss the ground situation with the central government team and explained that it is the first time Maharashtra and Konkan experienced a cyclone of this intensity which has affected the people and their source of living adverselyWe have estimated the losses to be around Rs 373 crore and immediately a sum of Rs 100 crore was released by the state soon after the cyclone The state government on our request had already increased the amount for damages from R6000 for minor damages as per NDRF norms to R15000 The state has increased Rs 1 lakh for major damage to Rs 150 lakh Rs 95000 from NDRF and balance from CM relief fund she addedAlso as per our request the state government made an additional slab of Rs 25000 and another of Rs 50000 which was approved by the Cabinet for cycloneaffected families entitled to either Rs 5000 or Rs 25000 or Rs 50000 or Rs 150 lakh for their damaged houses depending on the extent of damage she saidTatkare added We have made a request to the central team to consider making amendments in the National Disaster Management Actrsquos NDMA compensation figures for cyclonerelated damages hereafterShe also said an additional Rs 35 crore to Rs 40 crore assistance from the Centre has been sought to redo Zilla Parishad schools and to have homesset up near the seashores where around 1500 to 2000 people can take shelter during such natural emergencies She said they were working on converting bus stands into lightweight shelter homesOn the power disruptions in Raigad district which saw 16000 electric poles getting uprooted Tatkare said We have shortlisted three places ndash Uran Shrivardhan and Murud in Raigad district where the electric lines will be laid underground and this work will be completed within a year We will gradually decide on other places in the districtCollege prepares to hold examsThe Universityrsquos TY BSc examination which could not be held due to the lockdown will be held on Tuesday as per the order of the Supreme Court of India The Mangaon Taluka Education Society MTES runs a school and junior college and the Doshi Vakil Science and Commerce College which is all set to hold the TY Bsc practicals and other examsDilip Shet chairman of MTES said We have completed setting up the science practical laboratory which was completely damaged Also 10 computers as promised by Sharad Pawar NCP chief during his visit have been delivered to us besides financial help from three good Samaritans from Mumbai settled in the USA Rohit Mandge Amruta Yawalkar Rohan Reddy who donated over R5 lakh to the schoolShet added We can assure students who come for the university examinations that they wonrsquot be inconvenienced We have made every possible arrangement with the limited resources and funds we could gatherHowever he said they have not received any financial help from the governmentRs 373crEstimated cost of the losses in RaigadKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news