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Two central teams, which toured the cyclone-affected areas and studied the drought conditions in some districts separately, called on Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy at his camp office at Tadepalli near here on Friday.
The Chief Minister told them that the State government had taken necessary steps to shift people from low-lying areas to relief camps to prevent loss of life at the right time after cyclone warnings were issued.
The cyclone had resulted in continuous rains and heavy loss of crops as it kept moving along the coast before making a landfall. The State government officials, who toured the cyclone-affected areas, are in the process of assessing the damage. A list of the farmers who suffered crop loss will be displayed at the village secretariats after examining the e-crop details, he said.
He further informed the officials of the central teams that the State government will extend financial help to farmers in a transparent manner and asked them to ensure that the Centre extends financial support to the State liberally.
Observations
The two teams apprised the Chief Minister of the findings during their visit to the drought and cyclone-affected areas.
They had observed that due to the timely measures taken by the official machinery, loss of life was averted, they said.
They expressed satisfaction over the relief measures taken with the support of the village secretariats and lauded the e-cropping system which was not found in other States. A report on the loss caused by the cyclone would be submitted to the Centre, they said.
Drought impact
The members of the committee on drought told the Chief Minister that they had toured Anantapur, Chittoor, Kurnool, Nandyal, Satya Sai, Annamayya and NTR districts and spoken to the farmers besides observing the water levels in reservoirs and the drought-affected crops.
They said they had also observed the works under the employment guarantee scheme and lauded the RBKs and the village secretariat system which were extending support to farmers. They said that steps should be taken to encourage farmers to cultivate alternative commercial crops.
The Chief Minister told them to ensure that the Centre pays the pending bills to the State at the earliest.
NIDM Executive Director Rajendra Ratnu, Agriculture Joint Director Vikrant Singh, and DAFW Joint Secretary Pankaj Yadav were among the officials who called on the Chief Minister.
Special Chief Secretaries, G. Sai Prasad (Revenue and Disaster Management), Gopalakrishna Dwivedi (Agriculture), Y. Sri Lakshmi (MA&UD), B. Rajasekhar (PR), Water Resources Principal Secretary Sasibhushan Kumar, Transport Secretary Pradyumna Kumar, Agriculture Special Commissioner C.H. Harikiran, Disaster Management Director Ambedkar and senior officials were present.
