7 members of Central team from MHA completes inspection of aftermath of Cyclone Gaja to ascertain damages

It has been more than a week since the Cyclone Gaja had made its landfall at central coastal region of Tamil Nadu. Its high intensity cyclone with severe storm created unbearable loss for the people of Nagapattinam, Tanjore,Thiruvarur & Pudukottai districts of the state.

The situation still didn't get any better in the interior parts as all the power lines are still down as thousands of electricity polls were uprooted during the cyclone. Thousands of acres of coconut plantations and banana trees have been totally uprooted because of the cyclone and have created an irreversible loss for the farmers.

Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami last week met PM Narendra Modi at Delhi and had submitted a detailed memorandum on the damages ascertained by the state government. The CM also requested a sum of Rs 15,000 crores for the total restoration and sought Rs 1,500 crores as immediate relief for the initial works.

READ: Cyclone Gaja | Tamil Nadu Government Seeks About Rs 15,000 Crores Aid From The Centre

After the meeting, the CM told that the center will send a team from HMO to inspect, ascertain and estimate the total damages which Gaja had created in all these districts.

A team comprising seven members including the joint secretary Daniel Richard with various other officials from the departments of urban development, agriculture, health and power sector have started their inspection on Saturday at Pudukottai district and have completed their inspection at Nagapattinam on Monday.

During this visit, they traveled across the major cyclone affected areas and inspected the damages created by the cyclone and spoke with the people to know the intensity of their losses. The state top officials like commissioner for revenue and administration, health secretary and other secretary-level officials were also present during this visit with the respective district collectors to explain the situation.They also had meetings in every district officials where the state officials also explained them about the damages and have produced the estimate which they have ascertained after the ground study.

READ: MNM Chief Kamal Haasan Visits Cyclone Gaja Affected Areas, Dispatches Relief Material Worth Rs 1.2 Crores

The top official from HMO Daniel Richard who led the team told that they can see damages everywhere they go and this has totally affected the life of people. He also told that the people have faced such a disaster courageously and they've taken everything into the account. He also told that the final report will be prepared once they reach Delhi and the MHA will decide how much should be given as compensation based on the report.

As the state is facing similar kind of disaster very often where it had Cyclone Vardha two years back and major floods in the year 2015 and 2016, the government expects the quoted amount from the national disaster relief fund to compensate the damages as there is a major damage to various sectors such as agriculture, power, health, live stock & rural development sector.

The state government had already announced a solatium of Rs 10 lakh to the family members of the people who have lost their lives in the disaster. Sixty-three people have lost their life in 4 districts because of Gaja's fury.