AP to seek Centre's help in assessing cyclone damage

Andhra Pradesh government will request the Centre to depute a team of officials to the state to assess the massive damage caused by heavy rains over the last few days and provide assistance.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy would write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard, Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy told reporters in Hyderabad on Monday.
A memorandum would be sent to the Centre after estimating the damage, he said.
He was speaking after a high-level review meeting held by the Chief Minister with ministers and senior officials.
The toll in rain-related incidents has mounted to 24 and crops in 5.25 lakh hectares and horticulture crops in over 24,000 acres were affected.
The Chief Minister, state Congress president and Transport Minister Botsa Satyanarayana and ministers for agriculture and civil supplies would undertake an aerial survey and field visits on Tuesday in Krishna, Khammam, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari districts to interact with victims and to get first hand information.
Meanwhile, Civil Supplies Minister D Sridhar Babu said an assistance of Rs 1.50 lakh would be given to the kin of the deceased.
The Chief Minister would also request the Centre to relax the norms for purchase of cotton affected by rains, he said.
To a query, the Revenue Minister said it was not correct to say that the state government delayed in taking relief measures as the government machinery was put on alert immediately.
He, however, regretted that there was no mechanism to predict North-East Monsoon rains. There is a mechanism available with India Meteorological Department to predict South-West monsoon but not North-East Monsoon (winter rains received in parts of south India), he said.
I put this question to them this morning. I said you could alert us about 'Nilam' cyclone and we could tide over that. But what about the rains? They said they don't have that facility now. They said the Centre has now sanctioned Rs 400 crore to establish the system for making forecasts about North East monsoon and that it will take another 2-3 years for it to become functional. You may ask them why they could not forewarn us, Raghuveera Reddy said.
About cyclone, they predicted correctly. As far as the rains are concerned, they could not, he said.
Cyclone 'Nilam' crossed the Tamil Nadu coast last week without causing massive destruction. It gradually weakened into a low pressure area resulting in heavy rains in the coastal Andhra Pradesh.
PTI