Raigad district collectorate has so far received ₹75 crore of the ₹100 crore promised as relief for Cyclone Nisarga by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
On Friday, district magistrate Nidhi Choudhary in a video conference, informed all tehsils to start distributing the money. The relief package was announced on June 5 by Mr. Thackeray during his visit to the cyclone-ravaged areas.
The cyclone made a landfall at Murud on June 3, and though only six people lost their lives, the high speed winds left a trail of destruction. The CM announced ₹4 lakh as ex-gratia for relatives of the deceased.
Ms. Choudhary said survey of over 90% houses damaged was over. This weekend, the banks will open for people to withdraw the amounts transferred to their accounts and start the repair work, she said. “After we finish the survey of houses, we will assess the damage to crops and cattle,” Ms. Choudhary said.
Of the 1,976 villages affected, electricity has been restored in 890 villages. “We are hopeful that Murud, Mhasla and Tala will get connected by Saturday to at least the tehsil headquarters. Restoration at Shrivardhan, which is the worst-affected, will take some more time. Not just the distribution, the transmission itself has been damaged at Shrivardhan.”
Electricity has been fully restored at Panvel and Uran, while in Karjat it is 80%, she said. “Over 50% restoration work has been completed in Pen and Alibaug, and 70% in Mahad and Poladpur,” Ms. Choudhari said.
