Vijayawada: Telugu Desam chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday presented grounds to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to declare Cyclone Michaung a national disaster.
In his letter addressed to the PM, he pointed out that the cyclone had caused large-scale devastation not only in Andhra Pradesh but also the neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
In AP, Naidu pointed out that according to preliminary estimates, Michaung had claimed six lives and destroyed crops over 22 lakh acres, the damage amounting to a staggering Rs 10,000 crore. A significant number of livestock, houses, and trees had been lost, with wind speeds reaching up to 100 km per hour. Critical facilities, such as drinking water, irrigation, electricity, and communication, were heavily impaired across 15 districts in the state, bringing life to a standstill.
Power infrastructure and roads totalling a length of 770 km had been damaged.
The former chief minister requested Narendra Modi to dispatch a team from the government of India to assess the damage before declaring the Michaung cyclone a national disaster.
He pointed out that such a declaration will provide the necessary impetus to both immediate relief efforts and the establishment of resilient long-term infrastructure in the affected areas. The declaration will also instill confidence among victims, signalling a united effort in dealing with the challenges posed by the calamity.
