People left homeless, without food are now helping with restoration

Though efforts to restore electricity and water supply are being made on war footing Raigad is going through the worst aftermath of a natural calamity Speaking to midday district collector Nidhi Choudhary said The last time Raigad faced a cyclone was in 1891 and there are hardly any records available to ascertain the damage that happened thenShe added The worst affected are four talukas ndash Shirvardhan Murud Masla and Mangaon where the tin and asbestos roofs of houses were blown off The storm has damaged government schools anganwadi centres godowns government offices police check posts electric polls and trees Even 2000 tonne of food grains rice and wheat kept in three government PDC godowns were completely damagedThe worst affected talukas in Raigad district are Shirvardhan Murud Masla and Mangaon where the tin and asbestos roofs of houses were blown offWhen asked about the loss Raigad has faced Choudhary said The district has faced an estimated loss of over R250 crore and about 2 lakh houses have sustained minor to major damages As per a government resolution R5000 is given for minor damages and up to R1 lakh for major damages to the affected families Around R18000 is given to each farmer under the said guidelinesWe have found that six people who were shifted to a shelter had ventured out on the following day of the cyclone to check the condition of their house but were later found to be dead Even 41 livestock died in the storm As per the norms next of the kin of the deceased will be paid R4 lakh and government will take care of the hospital bills of those injured Similarly those who lost their livestock will be paid as per the NDRMA guidelines added Choudhary Many people have also lost their farm produces mainly mangoes beetle nuts cashew trees etcThe worst affected talukas in Raigad district are Shirvardhan Murud Masla and Mangaon where the tin and asbestos roofs of houses were blown offThe collector further said A large number of electric polls got damaged which has affected telephone connectivity We were able to communicate through our HAM network police wireless systems and satellite phones used by the NDRF Even though there were network issues we managed to mobilise about seven NDRF teams to the affected areasDue to the pandemic villagers whose main source of income was tourism have had a bad season this year They were hoping for good business during monsoon but the cyclone has left many of them homeless and without food Yet they came forward to help the administration and rescue teams said Choudhary She added I have never seen such a positive spirit before The people of Raigad lost everything but instead of blaming the state government or the local administration they helped in the relief and rescue operationWe are testing the water in wells and providing drinking water facility wherever possible We have also requested Adani Reliance and Tata Power to send their workers in order to help MSEB restore electricity at the earliest Though the estimated loss is R250 crore the actual loss will be much more she said On Sunday five of the seven NDRF teams were sent back while two of them continue to help the administrationSpeaking about handling COVID19 patients Choudhary said We have been very clear from the beginning that all COVID19 suspects and even positive patients from the district would be shifted to the designated quarantine and isolation centres in Panvel This was actually done with the intention that in case of any emergency serious COVID patients can be immediately shifted to designated hospitals in Mumbai for better care and treatment Also we wanted the primary health centres in the district to cater only to nonCOVID patients so that no one is deprived of medical treatmentContributions for RaigadDistrict Disaster Response FundAC No ndash 38222872300State Bank of IndiaIFSC Code SBIN0000308Catch 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