In the Rajmachi village located at the foothills of Rajmachi fort near Lonavala tourist town, roofs of 20 out of 25 houses are missing. (Express)

As many as 137 villages have been badly affected in Maval taluka of Pune district in Cyclone Nisarga. The taluka has 194 villages. The affected villages include the 400-year-old Rajmachi village located at the foothills of Rajmachi fort.

District Collector Naval Kishore Ram said at least five talukas — Maval, Mulshi, Junnar, Ambegaon and Khed — have been hit by Nisarga with damage estimated at Rs 50 crore. “Maval has been worst-hit. The assessment of the damage to houses, schools, cowsheds and offices is under way. As immediate relief, we will be paying Rs 10,000 per family from Monday. After full assessment is done, we will send the report to the government and accordingly, villagers and farmers will get compensation for losses suffered,” he said.

In the 137 villages in Maval, 103 houses were completely flattened while 1,261 houses have suffered damages, Maval tehsildar Madhusudhan Barge told The Indian Express on Sunday. Barge said hutments in 62 slums have also suffered damages while 19 cowsheds were destroyed. “Nine livestock have been reported dead,” he said.

As for green house projects located on 80 hectares of land, Barge said 237 farmers have complained that their projects have been badly affected. “At some places, entire projects have collapsed,” an official said.

In the famous Rajmachi village located at the foothills of Rajmachi fort near Lonavala tourist town, roofs of 20 out of 25 houses are missing. Vanhati Thakarwadi, a tribal hamlet, suffered the worst damage as all 16 huts were flattened by the storm.

Trekkers in the area have come together to rebuild the hamlet. Raju Bacche, corporator with Lonavala Municipal Corporation, has launched a campaign to rebuild Rajmachi village. Appealing for help, Bacche said, “Four-hundred-year-old Rajmachi village has suffered badly in the cyclonic storm. We have decided to put in our might to rebuild the village. We urge all trekkers and philanthropists to join hands.”

Officials said 140 electricity poles have been flattened. “Nearly 100 trees have also fallen in the storm,” an official said. At MTDC resort in Karla, seven rooms suffered damages and while some trees in its compound fell.

Jimmy Mistry, who runs the Della Resorts and Adventure Park in Lonavala, said, “Our adventure park has been severely affected by the storm just when we were gearing up to restart. We are still assessing the damage which is more than Rs 2 crore. But we will do everything possible to protect the interests of our over 1,600 employees.”

“We have cleared the road to Rajmachi fort and also pitching in to rebuild Rajmachi village and Thakarwadi,” he said.

In Wadgaon, water supply has been affected. On Sunday, municipal council chief Mayur Dhore said that in the next two days, water supply will be restored to entire Wadgaon city.

Tehsildar Barge said villagers will receive help once the panchnamas are over and report is submitted to the government. “We are still conducting panchnamas and would soon submit the report to the collectorate. We are expecting grants from the government, which will be credited to the accounts of the affected villagers,” he said.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who visited the taluka to assess the situation on Thursday, promised all help to the villagers. He also asked officials accompanying him to conduct on-the-spot panchnanas and quickly submit their reports. “As soon as we get the report, the government will extend help to the villagers,” he said.