Of the 900-odd villages in the 13 tehsils whose roads were blocked by felled trees and broken electricity poles during the Cyclone Nisarga, roads of 46 villages are yet to be restored.
Raigad Collector and District Magistrate Nidhi Choudhari told The Hindu that the remaining roads would be restored by Sunday. “All main roads and headquarters were restored within 24 hours of the cyclone. The remaining roads which need restoration are from 46 internal villages,” she said.
The Collector also released a WhatsApp helpline number — 8275152363 — on Saturday, in order to enable citizens to share photos and videos of fallen trees and blocked roads or streets. “We want people to report any fallen tree or blocked road to us on this number so that we can try to send help there as soon as possible,” Ms. Choudhari said.
Currently, seven teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and three teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are providing relief to cyclone-affected areas, especially Shrivardhan and Murud, which were the worst hit.
Volunteers lend a hand
The cyclone has affected lives of people from around 1,978 villages of which 128 on the shore faced the true brunt of nature. “We had also requested the villagers to come forward to join hands in helping clear the roads by helping the teams of NDRF and SDRF. A large number of volunteers have come forward in every tehsil,” Ms. Choudhari said.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) said electricity had been restored to over 5.5 lakh consumers in major areas of Alibaug, Pen, Karjat, Khalapur, Panvel and Uran. It also said work to restore power was under way in several other areas.
Around six executive engineers, eight other rank engineers and 50 linemen from the MSEDCL’s Vashi and Thane circle have been working to restore electricity in Raigad. “We also have extra workers from a private agency that works for us on contract basis, helping in the restoration work,” Anil Kamble, chief public relations officer, MSEDCL, said.