Cyclone Montha: Andhra ministers meet Shah, seek Rs 902 crore immediate relief

Andhra Pradesh ministers Nara Lokesh and V Anitha with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Andhra Pradesh ministers Nara Lokesh and V Anitha on Tuesday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in new Delhi, seeking immediate central assistance to help the state recover from the devastation caused by Cyclone Montha.

The two Andhra Pradesh ministers also called on Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and briefed him on the agricultural damage due to the cyclone in the state.

The state government led by the TDP, a key NDA ally, has pegged the total damage at Rs 6,362 crore and sought about Rs 902 crore as immediate relief from the Centre.

PHOTO | Andhra Pradesh Ministers Nara Lokesh and Anita meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, submit Cyclone Montha damage assessment report; Nara Lokesh highlights Rs 6,352-crore loss impacting 3,109 villages and seeks Rs 271 crore in agricultural relief.

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In their meeting with Shah, the ministers submitted a comprehensive damage assessment report detailing the cyclone's impact across 3,109 villages in 443 mandals spanning 24 districts, the state government said in a statement.

Cyclone Montha, which made landfall near Kakinada on October 28, brought winds of 100 kmph and torrential rainfall, affecting nearly 9.53 lakh people, it said.

The damage assessment reveals significant losses across multiple sectors: roads and infrastructure (Rs 4,324 crore), permanent structures (Rs 1,302 crore), water resources and irrigation projects (Rs 369 crore), agriculture and allied sectors (Rs 271 crore), public assets (Rs 48 crore), power sector (Rs 41 crore), and housing (Rs 7 crore).

Of this, approximately Rs 902 crore qualifies for immediate relief under National Disaster Response Fund guidelines, the statement said.

Lokesh, the state education and IT minister, briefed Shah on the state government's swift response, which included evacuating 1.92 lakh people to 2,471 relief camps where food, drinking water, milk and other essentials were provided.

Each affected family received immediate relief of Rs 3,000, and the government released an emergency fund of Rs 60 crore, the statement said.

In a separate meeting with Chouhan, the ministers outlined the cyclone's severe impact on agriculture.

The continuous rainfall and prolonged waterlogging damaged approximately 1.61 lakh hectares of agricultural land, affecting 3.27 lakh farmers and destroying an estimated 4.36 lakh metric tonnes of crops including paddy, maize, cotton, groundnut, red gram and various millets, the statement said.

The horticulture sector suffered heavy losses, with around 6,250 hectares, over 33 per cent of the horticulture area, under banana, papaya, coconut, turmeric, chillies, vegetables and flowers severely damaged. Support structures in plantations collapsed, creating long-term livelihood challenges for farmers.

Critical agricultural infrastructure including tanks, canals, bund roads, nurseries, shade nets, farm ponds, storage units and minor irrigation systems also sustained serious damage, disrupting irrigation and access to farmlands, the statement said.

Lokesh emphasised that the state government's timely interventions, including deployment of SDRF and NDRF teams and rapid loss assessments, helped minimise casualties and ensure uninterrupted assistance to affected people.

A Central Inter-Ministerial Committee conducted field inspections on November 12 following the state's preliminary submissions. The delegation meeting the Union ministers included several MPs from Andhra Pradesh, the statement said.

The ministers requested urgent central support to help the state recover from the extensive agricultural and horticultural losses, with Rs 271 crore specifically sought for agriculture relief, it added.