With the efforts of RTGS, coordination of officials and relief teams, we will be able to prevent loss of life due to cyclone Arnab in Andhra Pradesh – According to the preliminary estimate, the damage caused by the cyclone in the state is Rs. 4,764 crores, officials explained to the central team.
N A T I O N A L N E W S
AP Beauro Report – Bharath (Dg) News
By- Raja Pentapati – Amaravati – Oct 31
A central government assessment team has reached the state to assess the damage caused by cyclone Arnab. As part of this, the team visited the Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) center in the Secretariat on Saturday.
The damage caused to the state due to cyclone Arnab was explained to the central team through a PowerPoint presentation. A seven-member team led by Union Home Ministry Joint Secretary Chitraranjan Dash visited the state.
On this occasion, RTGS officials briefed the central team about the precautionary measures taken by the state government during the cyclone. RTGS Secretary. K. Bhaskar and RTGS CEO Prakhar Jain explained to the central team.
RTGS officials said that they had been continuously alerting the people for six days before the cyclone Arnab. Continuous cyclone warnings were issued to the public by RTGS and Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA). Continuous cyclone warnings were issued to 7.23 crore mobile users.
At the time of the cyclone’s landfall, people were prevented from coming out of their homes and vehicular movement on roads was stopped. As a result, the loss of life was reduced to a great extent. RTGS monitored the situation to ensure that various departments were working in coordination to effectively deal with the cyclone situation.
During the cyclone, a facility was provided to the public through ‘Mana Mitra WhatsApp Governance’ to share their problems with the government and seek emergency assistance. Complaints received were redressed immediately. More than 95 per cent of the cyclone-related complaints received through ‘Mana Mitra’ were resolved. Fishermen were prevented from venturing into the sea for fishing in advance, officials said. A total of 30,043 fishing boats belonging to fishermen were stopped at the ports.
Officials told the central team that a preliminary estimate of Rs 4,764 crore has been incurred due to cyclone Arnab in the state. Crops belonging to 4.63 lakh farmers in 3.52 lakh hectares have been damaged. Horticultural crops in 23,383 hectares have been damaged. Officials said that 2,491 km of state roads have been damaged and 7,382 houses have been affected. While the cyclone has caused damage in 12
districts, Konaseema and West Godavari districts have been severely affected. The power sector has been severely damaged, officials said.
The central team was very impressed with the way in which Mana Mitra is receiving and resolving people’s problems through WhatsApp governance in the cyclone-affected areas. The central team said that this idea is wonderful, through which people can easily inform the government about their problems through WhatsApp.
The team opined that such a program will serve as a model for other states and will recommend the central government to set up facilities like Mana Mitra in all states.
The central team also appreciated the real-time monitoring of disaster management through real-time governance. The central team expressed satisfaction with the PowerPoint presentation made by RTGS officials on the damage caused by cyclone Arnab. Chitraranjan Dash said that efforts will be made to ensure that the state gets adequate assistance from the center. He said that recommendations will be made to the central government to provide immediate assistance to Andhra Pradesh to recover from the disaster.
Swacha Andhra Pradesh
