A delegation from the central government led by Home Ministry Joint Secretary Sanjeev Kumar Jindal visited Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday to take stock of the damage caused by Cyclone Titli in the state's Uddanam region.
The team members interacted with victims and were guided by District Collector K Dhananjaya Reddy. They said that they would prepare a detailed report on the damage and the compensation that was needed to be disbursed to the victims, and submit it to the Centre for further action.
According to media reports, many locals expressed their helplessness to the delegation as they had lost years of hard work, with coconut and cashew trees being uprooted, and said that their future was uncertain as it would take several years to plant and grow the trees again.
After meeting locals, the delegation also spoke to several district officials on the steps taken by the state government so far.
Earlier this week, the Andhra Pradesh government made a representation to the central government and demanded that Cyclone Titli be declared a national calamity, adding that the state required Rs 1,200 crore immediately as interim relief.
In a meeting with cabinet secretary PK Sinha, Andhra Pradesh relief Commissioner D Varaprasad and resident commissioner Praveen Prakash said that the cyclone had caused massive damage, especially in Srikakulam district.
Last week, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said that the cyclone had pushed the area back by two decades. He also said that normalcy would be restored by October 29.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier, Naidu had said, "The cyclone has devastated these districts (Srikakulam and Vizianagaram) and has left huge damage to properties, agriculture and horticulture crops, houses and infrastructure resulting in deep distress and misery to the people of these districts."
The state government has announced Rs 5 lakhs compensation to each family which lost members in the cyclone.
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