PM announces interim assistance of Rs 1000 crore for AP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced an interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for Andhra Pradesh to take up immediate relief work in the aftermath of the devastation caused by Cyclone 'Hudhud'.He instructed top officials of the Central government to continue to work closely with the affected states to ensure that there are no bottlenecks in relief and rescue work, a PMO statement said.    At the high-level meeting on the aftermath of cyclone Hudhud, he also emphasised the need to document learnings from this cyclone, and to put in place more precise drills and disaster management plans involving all stakeholders, especially in areas which are prone to such disasters. The Prime Minister was briefed on the extent of destruction, including the damage to infrastructure such as roads, railway lines, buildings, power and telecommunication lines, the statement said. He was also given an overview of the status of relief operations and steps taken to ensure supply of essential commodities including food, drinking water and fuel.  The extent of damage to standing crops shall be assessed over the next few days, the meeting was told.  The meeting came a day before he visits Visakhapatnam for a first-hand assessment of the situation there.  He will also take an aerial view of the affected parts of Odisha.  The Centre today pegged the death toll at 17 in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha where over 13,000 people have been evacuated to safer places so far.  "A total of 17 people have lost their lives, 14 in Andhra Pradesh and 3 in Odisha," an official statement by the MHA said.  So far, 13,256 people (11,853 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,403 in Odisha) have been evacuated to safer places, the statement said.

"Full survey is yet to be conducted. For now, to deal with difficulty of such a magnitude, I announce, on behalf of the Government of India, an interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore," Modi told reporters after a meeting with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, senior ministers and top state officials. He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the cyclone and Rs 50,000 to the injured. "The Centre will fully stand by Andhra Government in this hour of difficulty, Modi said. Modi said the Centre and Andhra Pradesh government worked in perfect coordination "minute-to-minute" over the past five days to tackle the challenge posed by the cyclone which has claimed 21 lives and left a trail of devastation in the coastal areas. The local bodies, he said, also rose up to the task. "It is important to note that a crisis of any magnitude can be overcome if the state and Centre work should-to-shoulder," he said. The Prime Minister said the Meteorological Department had correctly forecast from October six itself the different aspects of the cyclone like its velocity, direction and time, leveraging the power of technology. "The use of technology has helped in overcoming this crisis," the Prime Minister said. Modi appreciated the residents of Visakhapatnam for following the directions of the government with discipline at the time of crisis, helping save precious lives.