A year after Cyclone Nisarga made landfall in Murud, the Raigad administration has disbursed relief to the affected people and is on the path of building resilient infrastructure in the district.
“Due to the Nisarga experience, we have built two multi-purpose cyclone shelters (MPCS) at Borli and Dighi under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project. With the district being prone to such weather conditions, we will be building 26 more MPCS,” said District Collector Nidhi Choudhary.
All proposed 26 shelters will come up in zilla parishad schools, of which 22 will be rebuilt at a proposed cost of ₹109.48 crore, while four will be repaired at ₹8.06 crore to make them cyclone-resilient. The proposals have been sent to the Maharashtra government.
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924 spots identified
The district administration has also identified 924 spots to install lightning arresters. “The State has sent the proposal to the Government of India. At an estimated cost of ₹8.31 crore, the lightning arresters will be installed on buildings and bus stops,” Ms. Choudhary said.
The District Collector said the administration received ₹447 crore as relief, of which ₹348 crore had been distributed to the affected people. The remaining ₹99 crore has been handed over to the State government. “All relief pertaining to individuals has been disbursed. A part of the grants to repair schools, anganwadis, and government buildings has not yet been received from the State Disaster Response Fund,” Ms. Choudhary said.
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The State government’s proposal to set up a unit of the National Disaster Response Force at a plot in Mahad is awaiting the approval of the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairying as the land belongs to it, Ms. Choudhary said. Meanwhile, 23 non-functional public distribution system godowns have been shortlisted to be turned into animal shelters. “Estimates are under way and will be submitted before June 10,” she said.
The cyclone that struck the district on June 3, 2020 caused extensive damage to Murud, Alibag, Shrivardhan, Mhasla and Uran talukas. The administration has identified 20 landslide-prone villages and a ₹41.36 crore proposal has been sent to the State government for building a retaining wall.
Underground cabling
Last year, the district submitted a proposal for underground cabling of coastal cities. However, the proposal is being modified to add lines to provide oxygen to hospitals. A proposal to build saline water embankments at 27 spots to prevent sea water from entering villages has also been submitted to the State government.