Rain damage touches Rs 2,137 crore in Nellore

Nellore: The recent heavy rains left a trail of destruction in SPSR Nellore district. As many as 400 teams are enumerating the damages in the affected areas and the exercise is almost coming to an end. The loss to various sectors is pegged at Rs 2,137 crore as on Sunday.

The worst-hit was panchayat raj department with loss to the tune of Rs 538.69 crore followed by Rs 492.02 crore to fisheries department, especially shrimp culture. In case of panchayat raj, 215 km of road breached, 1,584 km length of road suffered surface damages and 708 buildings of the department damaged during the rains.

It is going to take a long time for the farmers involved in fish and aqua culture in about 6,502 hectares (16,500 acres approximately) to return to the activity having lost all their investment.

According to fisheries wing officials, the investment for aqua culture is to the tune of Rs 3 lakh per hectare for infrastructure pertaining to power, seed, feed and labour.

Aerators, motors, pipelines, boats, electric polices, and transformers, boats and feed stock are either damaged or washed away in the floods. Moreover, the bunds also damaged and ponds remained unfit for cultivation till the removal of sand layer.

After panchayat raj and fisheries wings, roads and buildings, minor irrigation and seven civic bodies including Nellore Municipal Corporation bore the brunt of rains with losses to the extent of Rs 337.90 crore, Rs 270.37 crore and Rs 234.26 crore respectively.

Nearly 553.75 km of R&B road had sustained surface damages. In case of irrigation department, 376 tanks and 1,865 supply channels and sluices have been breached. With respect to civic bodies, Nellore is top in the list with Rs 124.84 crore loss.

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