Central team in state to assess damage caused by Tauktae

NT NETWORK

Panaji

An inter-ministerial central team headed by Joint Secretary of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs Ashutosh Agnihotri arrived in Goa on Thursday to assess the situation and the damage caused by Cyclone Tauktae, which hit Goa recently.

A seven-member team consisting of Agnihotri; Deputy Director of Ministry of Finance Shalaka Kujur; Director of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Nagpur R P Singh; Assistant Executive Engineer, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Mumbai Pranjal Buragohain; Assistant Commissioner, Ministry of Rural Development Ayush Punia; Deputy Director of Ministry of Power Jitesh Shrivas and Fisheries Scientist of the Department of Fisheries Dr H D Pradeep on Thursday held a meeting with the concerned departments at the Forest Bhavan and took a briefing on the impact of Cyclone Tauktae.

Secretary of Revenue Sanjay Kumar initially gave an overview of the impact caused due to the cyclone. Later, a presentation on the losses incurred by the state was made by the directorate of fire and emergency services, fisheries department, agriculture

department, water resources department, public works department, electricity department and the department of information technology followed by an open discussion on the matter.

The inter-ministerial central team will visit the various cyclone-affected sites in North Goa and South Goa on Friday. The team is also likely to meet Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in the evening.

Sources said as per the Goa government, an estimated loss to the state due to the cyclone is around Rs 140 crore and the state government has sought financial assistance from the central government.