Centre sends 7-member panel to assess Arnab losses in AP

A seven-member central team arrived in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, October 31, to assess the destruction caused by Cyclone Arnab, and it is set to tour the affected areas.

The team is headed by Chittaranjan Das, a joint secretary in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Chief Secretary Sai Prasad and other senior officials received it at the State Secretariat.

State officials told the team that preliminary estimates put the losses at Rs 4,764 crore, with about 12 districts hit. Konaseema and West Godavari were among the worst affected.

After the briefing, the team said it was satisfied with the presentation and assured officials it would help facilitate central financial assistance.

The team includes representatives of the agriculture, finance, power, water resources, rural development, and road transport and highways departments, along with a representative of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

At the Secretariat, the members visited the Real-Time Governance Society (RTGS) centre. RTGS Secretary Katamaneni Bhaskar and CEO Prakhar Jain explained the cyclone’s impact in a PowerPoint presentation.

The visitors asked about the disaster management steps taken by the RTGS. They were particularly interested in the Mana Mitra system, which receives and resolves public grievances in real time.

The team described Mana Mitra as a good initiative and said it would recommend that other states adopt a similar system. RTGS officials said continuous public warnings and efforts to keep people indoors during the cyclone helped avert major loss of life.