While immediate relief work was attended to after cyclone Hudhud struck the city, some of the restoration works still need to be completed in a full-fledged manner by GVMC. “There are no signs of critical gaps of the cyclone affect. But it will take time for the restoration work to be completed since the corporation’s capacity to invest from general funds will take time,” says Municipal Commissioner Pravin Kumar.
The corporation has estimated the cost of permanent restoration of infrastructure at Rs.1,270 crore. Of this, water supply requirement is put at Rs. 509 crore, roads Rs. 356 crore, buildings Rs. 158 crore, drains and underground drainage Rs. 89 crore, street-lighting Rs. 85 crore and sanitation Rs. 73 crore. While the corporation had spent Rs. 57.02 crore on restoration, including Rs.18 crore on tree and debris clearance, so far Rs.7.5 crore has been released. However, streetlights have been replaced with LED lights by EESL after GVMC signed an MoU with it.
There is scope for final restoration if Rs. 500 crore is sanctioned, says the Commissioner. The damage has been heavy since trees and electric poles were uprooted affecting roads, water supply, drainage, parks and burial grounds.
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