Cyclone Nisarga: 4 lives lost, roofs blown; Uddhav Thackeray lauds relief work

MUMBAI: Cyclone Nisarga claimed four lives in the state, including two in Raigad district and two in Pune.
In Raigad, Amar Jawalekar (16) from Shrivardhan was killed after a wall of his house collapsed while 58-year-old Dashrath Waghmare from Alibaug died after an electric double pole fell on him.
In Pune district, one of the two victims was a 65-year-old woman. The senior citizen died and three others were injured in two wall collapse incidents in Khed and Haveli tehsil. Strong winds blew away tin sheets of their homes and caused walls to crash, said officials. Eight suffered minor injuries in Sindhudurg.
Foodgrains were damaged in Raigad after godown roofs were blown off by cyclonic winds. In Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, tin roofs and tiles on roofs were blown away.
Mumbai and Thane recorded a large number of uprooted trees. Mumbai-Goa Highway was hit by tree crashes.
The smooth coordination between the Centre, the state, the district administration and the armed forces ensured people near the coast and in low-lying areas were shifted.
In all, 44,430 people were evacuated in Mumbai and 33,761 elsewhere. NDRF teams arrived in Mumbai on Sunday. Five more NDRF teams were airlifted from Vishakhapatnam on Tuesday. Twenty NDRF and six SDRF teams were deployed in the state.
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray thanked the people of the state and those involved in relief and rescue work. “The state is already facing the Covid-19 crisis and has had to face the cyclone too. One cannot go beyond nature. However, all efforts made by the people of Maharashtra who stood united helped us come out, though lives were lost in the calamity,” he said.
Raigad district collector Nidhi Choudhari said, “Across Raigad, the cyclone has damaged cashew, mango and beetel nut crop. The damage assessment will be completed in two days. We cleared arterial roads of Alibaug-Pen, Alibaug-Rewas, Goa highway up to Poladpur and from Murud till Mazgaon, with NDRF teams.” In Palghar, there was no damage to property. Over 21,000 fisherfolk from Vasai, Palghar, Dahanu and Talsari will stay in evacuation shelters as winds continue to blow.