Cyclone damage pegged at Rs 4,000 crore

CUDDALORE: The damage caused by the havoc wreaked by cyclone Thane in the district has been pegged at Rs 4,000 crore, according to an official of a Central team that inspected the affected areas here. “In total, two lakh hectare of agricultural lands were affected, of which more than over a lakh hectare of lands are in Cuddalore district. In this district alone, the worth of damages would be pegged at Rs 4000 crore approximately,” said the official from the nine-member team led by joint secretary in Ministry of Home Affairs Lokesh Jha.In a brief interaction with reporters, Jha said, “The district administration and the State government have been doing their best. Since the damages and the affected areas are vast, we need time to prepare our reports.”When asked about bringing in Central force to restore power supply, he said that after consulting the State government, the Centre would take suitable steps. When asked if Cuddalore district would be declared as a disaster zone, Jha said: “We are still holding discussions and can’t say anything now. All the demands would be taken into consideration.”The team toured T Kumarapuram, Nellikuppam, Vanpakkam, Melpattampakkam, Sathipattu, Kadampuliyur, Thazanguda, Silver Beach and an Overhead Tank at Caper Hill along with senior officials of the State government.At T Kumarapuram village, the team visited a collapsed building of a panchayat union elementary school and at Karamanikuppam, officials of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board briefed the team about the damage and relief measures undertaken so far. At Vanpakkam, they visited damaged houses and inquired with the landlords. The team also visited paddy fields in the same village and interacted with farmers and collected particulars about the extent of damage caused to crops.At Thirukandeshwaram, they held discussions with coconut and sugarcane farmers. Farmers of Sathipattu showed the Central team damaged jackfruits, bananas and other crops. The team interacted with cashew farmers at Kadampuliyur and noted down their grievances. When the team inquired with the farmers about alternative farming options, they replied that it would not  be possible as those areas did not have irrigation facility.