Govt.’s timely response to Arnab minimised human casualties, property damages, says TDP leader

TDP national spokesman Neelayapalem Vijay Kumar said that the government’s timely response to Cyclone Arnab minimised human casualties and property damages despite its intensity, and that the real-time governance system demonstrated how proactive governance could significantly blunt the impact of such calamities.

Addressing the media at the party’s central office near Mangalagiri on Thursday, Mr. Vijay Kumar said that nearly 40,000 employees, officials, and volunteers from the ruling parties participated in the rescue and relief operations. He stated that 84,000 people were shifted to 290 cyclone shelters in advance, while pointing out that Cyclone Arnab was as destructive as Hudhud that wrecked havoc in Visakhapatnam in 2014.

The government announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh each to the families of the deceased and a compensation of ₹10,000 per damaged house. In addition, financial assistance was being provided to MSMEs and other business/commercial establishments which incurred losses. More importantly, top priority has been given to mitigating the loss inflicted by the cyclone on the agriculture sector.

Mr. Vijay Kumar said Energy department personnel restored power in most of the cyclone-affected areas within 24 hours, which helped carry out extensive relief operations. He also expressed the government’s commitment to helping all those who were affected by the cyclone.