A high-level Central team led by Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home, visited several places affected by cyclone Titli on Thursday.
Members of the team, who also interacted with the victims, said they would prepare a detailed report and submit it to the Union government for further action.
District Collector K. Dhananjaya Reddy told the team members that the situation was pathetic and immediate help was the need of the hour. Villagers in places such as Janturu, Kosamala, Singupuram, and Amalpadu and in the Uddanam region said they had never faced such a calamity earlier though they were witness to cyclones such as Neelam, Laila, Phailin and Hudhud.
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The villagers told the team members that they had suffered permanent loss of livelihood with all the cashew and coconut trees getting uprooted, and feared that it was not possible for them to lead a decent life in the near future. Babu Rao, a rice mill owner at Baligam village of Mandasa mandal, urged the Central team to extend financial aid to individuals who suffered property loss too. Later, the team members, who included K. Srivatsava, Deena Nath, Manik Chandra Pandit, S.K. Singh, Omprakash, and B. Prasad, interacted with the district officials.
They reportedly sought to know from the officials the preventive steps that had been taken on October 9 and 10 to minimise the damage.
The district officials told the team that wide publicity had been given about the impending cyclone and its impact on the coastal areas. Only seven persons had lost their lives as a result, the Collector said.
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Photo exhibition
Later, the team members saw a photo exhibition depicting the damage caused to the cashew, coconut, paddy, banana and other crops.
The team members would interact with the State-level officials in Vijayawada on Friday and submit a report to the Union government.