Andhra Pradesh Ministers Request Rs 902 Crore Relief Following Cyclone Montha's Impact

Following Cyclone Montha's devastation, Andhra Pradesh ministers met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to request Rs 902 crore in immediate relief. The cyclone caused extensive damage across multiple sectors, affecting over 9.53 lakh people.

Andhra Pradesh ministers Nara Lokesh and V Anitha met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to request urgent central assistance. The state is recovering from Cyclone Montha's devastation. They also discussed agricultural damage with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The TDP-led state government estimates the total damage at Rs 6,362 crore and seeks Rs 902 crore as immediate relief from the Centre.

The cyclone, which struck near Kakinada on October 28, brought winds of 100 kmph and heavy rain, impacting nearly 9.53 lakh people. A comprehensive damage report was submitted to Shah, detailing the cyclone's impact across 3,109 villages in 443 mandals within 24 districts. The report outlines significant losses in various sectors.

Damage Assessment and Relief Efforts

The damage assessment highlights losses in roads and infrastructure at Rs 4,324 crore, permanent structures at Rs 1,302 crore, water resources at Rs 369 crore, agriculture at Rs 271 crore, public assets at Rs 48 crore, power sector at Rs 41 crore, and housing at Rs 7 crore. Of this, about Rs 902 crore qualifies for immediate relief under National Disaster Response Fund guidelines.

Lokesh briefed Shah on the state government's swift response. This included evacuating 1.92 lakh people to 2,471 relief camps where essentials like food and water were provided. Each affected family received Rs 3,000 as immediate relief, and an emergency fund of Rs 60 crore was released.

Agricultural Impact

In discussions with Chouhan, the ministers detailed the cyclone's severe impact on agriculture. Continuous rainfall and prolonged waterlogging damaged around 1.61 lakh hectares of agricultural land. This affected 3.27 lakh farmers and destroyed approximately 4.36 lakh metric tonnes of crops including paddy, maize, cotton, groundnut, red gram and various millets.

The horticulture sector faced heavy losses too. Around 6,250 hectares suffered damage, affecting over a third of the horticulture area under banana, papaya, coconut, turmeric, chillies, vegetables and flowers. Support structures in plantations collapsed, posing long-term livelihood challenges for farmers.

Infrastructure Damage

Critical agricultural infrastructure such as tanks, canals, bund roads, nurseries and storage units sustained serious damage. This disrupted irrigation and access to farmlands. Lokesh emphasised that timely interventions by the state government helped minimise casualties and ensured uninterrupted assistance to affected people.

A Central Inter-Ministerial Committee conducted field inspections on November 12 after the state's preliminary submissions. The delegation meeting the Union ministers included several MPs from Andhra Pradesh. They requested urgent central support to help recover from extensive agricultural and horticultural losses.

The ministers specifically sought Rs 271 crore for agriculture relief. Lokesh highlighted that deploying SDRF and NDRF teams along with rapid loss assessments were crucial in managing the crisis effectively.

With inputs from PTI