Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday asked officials to complete panchnamas or inspection reports of losses due to cyclone Nisarga in Raigad district within two days.
Speaking at a video conference to take a stock of damage caused by the cyclone in the coastal district which is adjacent to Mubai, Thackeray also directed that electricity supply be restored quickly.
Six people died in Maharashtra due to cyclone-related incidents and 16 were injured, while six cattle were also killed, said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).
Crops, trees or houses over 5,033 hectares of land were also damaged, it added.
Thackeray directed the authorities to provide aid of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those killed, the CMO statement said, adding that he asked for panchnamas to be completed in two days so that assistance can be provided to farmers and others.
Mahavitaran, the electricity distribution company was asked to restore electricity supply by repairing the electricity poles damaged by the cyclone.
Since there is shortage of water for cooking purposes in some areas of the district, people should be provided food, the CM said.
In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the people who were shifted to temporary shelters should be tested for coronavirus before they are allowed to go back home, he said.
Cyclonic storms are common on the eastern coast but not on the western coast, the chief minister observed.
"We need to be prepared to meet such eventualities in future," he was quoted as saying in the CMO statement.
Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat who was present at the meeting stressed the need to start relief operations at the earliest.
Cyclone Nisarga, which made landfall near Alibaug on Wednesday afternoon, felled over one lakh tress in Raigad district. Shrivardhan andMurud tehsils were worst hit with all communication being paralyzed, the CMO statement said.
There was panic among people as mobile and landline networks were down, officials said in the meeting, it added.
Ten fishing boats were partially damaged while fish farms over 12 hectares also suffered due to the nature's fury, it was informed.
In Ratnagiri district, south of Raigad, 3,000 trees were uprooted and 14 power substations and 1,962 transformers were badly damaged.
In Mumbai city, trees were uprooted in 25 places while in suburbs trees were uprooted at 55 places and two houses were damaged, it was informed in the meeting.
The cyclone dumped 72.5 mm of rain in Maharashtra while 78,191 people were shifted to safer places, the CMO statement said.
Meanwhile, NCP MP Sunil Tatkare said on Thursday that the cyclone has caused roughly Rs 5,000 crore worth of damage in Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra, and asked the state government to announce a special economic package for the coastal region.
Tatkare made the appeal for financial assistance to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his deputy Ajit Pawar, who belongs to the NCP.
The Lok Sabha MP from Raigad submitted a memorandum in this regard to NCP president Sharad Pawar too, a statement said.
The Parliamentarian said the cyclone made landfall in Murud in Raigad and caused large-scale damage to properties in the district, besides Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
As per initial information, losses of around Rs 5,000 crore have been caused. Hence, the government should carry out a survey and declare a special economic package for the affected people from the region, the NCP leader demanded.
The cyclone has damaged homes of people, orchards, crops, fishermens boats, vehicles and snapped electricity wires, among others, said the former Maharashtra minister, whose party is a key constituent in the Shiv Sena-led government in the state.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI)