'Authorities responded too late for us,' say locals in Uran

The town of Uran was also affected by Cyclone Nisarga after it made landfall at ShrivardhanDiveagar in Raigad district on Wednesday midday visited the town which saw hundreds of trees fall due to wind speed of 120 km and damage to housesMany of the locals residing near the sea hadnt gone to the shelters due to the COVID19 scare and claimed that the authorities responded late with helpAlmost every road was full of fallen tree branches which were being removed by the National Disaster Response Force NDRF and other local agenciesAlong most roads electricity wires and poles had fallen due to the massive wind on Wednesday The local police had cordoned all roads going towards the seashoreSeveral houses were damaged after trees fell on them while the roofs of some cottages were blown awayNagaon a village in Uran has thousands of families residing just 500 mts from the sea and they werent evacuated According to the locals they didnt go to the shelter houses due to the COVID19 scare and also because authorities came lateAuthorities came lateGajanan Naik 55 a resident of Nagaon was at home with his family when a big tree fell on it damaging the roof We were very scared We didnt go to the shelter house as when the authorities came to our door step it was already raining heavily and there were strong winds We felt being on the road could be dangerous as several trees had fallen blocking the exit completely he saidJitendra Gharat in white shirt shows the collapsed wall of the toilet after a coconut tree fell on itJitendra Gharat 42 another resident of Nagaon escaped unhurt when a coconut tree fell on the toilet and half its wall was damagedWe were lucky that it didnt fall on our house as around seven members of my family were there We were not prepared to deal with the cyclone We didnt go to the shelter house due to COVID19 We are thankful to the almighty that nothing happened to us he saidThe roof of my house was blown away so we are trying to get it covered with tarpaulin We fisherfolk were fully prepared as the authorities acted well in advance so we were able to protect our boats and other fishing equipment said Mahesh Padmakar who stays in UranOfficial speakAround 1900 families were shifted to shelter houses before cyclone Nisargas landfall It was a well coordinated preparation in collaboration with other agencies and not a single life was lost But some families didnt move to shelter houses despite our best efforts said Jagdish Kulkarni senior PI Uran police stationIn some other parts of Raigad district massive damage to houses crops and properties was reported and two people died Almost all coastal tehsils and southern Raigad are devastated said Nidhi Chaudhary collector RaigadDashrath Waghmare 58 an employee of Maharashtra State Electricity Company Ltd MSEDCL died after an electric pole fell on him in Raigad District another death was reported at Shrivardhan where 16yearold Amol Javelkar died when the compound wall of his house fell on himCatch 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