Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed the State government machinery to ensure that there is no loss of life due to the incidents related to inclement weather conditions caused by Cyclone Michaung which is likely to make a landfall near the Bapatla coast on December 5 (Tuesday) afternoon.
“The officials must bear it in mind that farmers do not incur losses due to the cyclone,” said Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy during a review meeting held in virtual mode at his Camp Office at Tadepalli, near here, on December 4 (Monday).
The Chief Minister told the officials to treat the cyclone as a challenge and take the necessary steps to prevent loss of life and keep the property loss to the bare minimum.
Wind is expected to blow at a speed of more than 110 km per hour under the impact of the cyclone, apart from heavy rains. The weather condition is expected to return to normal by December 7.
“The official machinery should rope in the village and ward secretariat staff and volunteers in relief and rescue operations. The cyclone victims should be given ₹1,000 and ₹2,500 (individuals and families each respectively) when they leave the relief camps. All types of discoloured and wet paddy should be procured.”Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Chief Minister
In the past, the State experienced winds and gales at a speed of 210 km per hour. Even as the weather forecast said the situation would not be so severe this time, the officials must not lower their guards and remain vigilant. The State had experienced cyclones such as HudHud and the officials have good experience in tackling such challenges. The entire government machinery should be on high alert, said Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy. He asked the official machinery to rope in the village and ward secretariat staff and volunteers in relief and rescue operations.
“Apart from undertaking the cyclone relief measures, the officials must take steps to save the kharif crops, especially the harvested paddy. They should educate farmers on safeguarding the crop that is yet to be harvested. The paddy procurement should be done on a war footing. We must stand by the farmers and extend all possible help. Enumeration of crop loss should be done at the earliest. There should not be any scope for loss,” said the Chief Minister.
The officials informed Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy that 97,000 tonne of paddy had been procured and 6.5 lakh tonne of paddy had been shifted to safer places in the view of the cyclone.
“All types of discoloured and wet paddy should be procured to avoid kharif crop loss,” said Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Relief camps
The Chief Minister said that he would visit the cyclone-hit areas and there should be no complaints from any section of people on the relief measures taken by the Collectors. “All the essentials should be provided to the cyclone victims and proper sanitation should be maintained in the relief camps. The victims should be given ₹1,000 and ₹2,500 (individuals and families each respectively) when they leave the relief camps. There should not be any complaints on the relief measures undertaken,” he said.
Relief material including 25 kg of rice, red gram, palm oil, potato and onion 1kg each should be given to the people whose houses are submerged. If pucca and thatched houses are damaged in the cyclone, they should be compensated with ₹10,000 each, he said.
NDRF and SDRF deployed
The officials said that five NDRF and five SDRF teams had been deployed in vulnerable areas. Of the required 308 camps, 181 relief camps had been opened and people were being shifted there from the vulnerable areas. The Chief Minister said that steps should be taken to open the rest of the camps.
The officials should also be ready to attend to emergency services such as shifting pregnant women, lactating mothers and the elderly people to hospitals, he added.
Home Minister T. Vanitha, Chief Secretary K.S. Jawahar Reddy, DGP K.V. Rajendranath Reddy, Special Chief Secretaries Y. Sri Lakshmi, (MA&UD) , G. Sai Prasad (revenue and disaster management), S.S. Rawat (finance), B. Rajasekhar (PR), K. Vijayanand (energy), M.T. Krishna Babu (medical & health), Gopalakrishna Dwivedi (agriculture), Transport Secretary P.S. Pradyumna, Civil Supplies Commissioner H. Arunkumar, Civil Supplies Corporation MD G. Veera Pandyan, School Education Commissioner S. Suresh Kumar and other senior officials were present.
