A seven-member inter-ministerial central team will inspect damage caused by the Murasu cyclone across four Andhra Pradesh districts on Friday and Saturday, meeting affected residents and assessing losses across key sectors before briefing Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
The inter-ministerial central team, led by Union Home Ministry joint secretary Chittaranjan Das, will visit Bapatla, Palnadu, Eluru and East Godavari districts, according to Andhra Pradesh disaster management authority managing director Prakhar Jain. The field inspections are intended to provide the Centre with first-hand information on the cyclone’s impact.
The team will divide into two groups for the two-day assessment. On Friday, the first group will travel to Bapatla district, while the second will inspect Eluru district. On Saturday, the first group will visit Palnadu and the second will tour East Godavari.
During the visits, the team will examine damage across various sectors and interact with residents affected by the cyclone. The assessment will cover the ground-level impact reported in the four districts, although the supplied report does not specify the total area affected, the number of damaged properties or the financial value of the losses.
The composition of the team brings together officials responsible for agriculture, water resources, public expenditure, roads, rural development and power. It also includes a scientist from the National Remote Sensing Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation, allowing the assessment to draw on both field observations and remote-sensing inputs.
The members include additional development commissioner Prashant Armorkar from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Central Water Commission superintending engineer Rekha Rani Kollu, Department of Expenditure assistant director Himalaya Garg, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways executive engineer Shashank Shekhar Roy, Ministry of Rural Development deputy secretary Alok Jawahar, Ministry of Power deputy director Pranay Garg and National Remote Sensing Centre scientist Dr S.V.S.P. Sharma.
The team’s visit follows an earlier direction from the Centre to assess damage caused by cyclone Arnab using the same inter-ministerial central team, according to the report. The current inspection will focus on the Murasu cyclone-affected areas in Andhra Pradesh.
The assessment is expected to conclude with a meeting between the team and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday. The members will brief him on their observations from the four districts, providing the next formal milestone in the damage-assessment process.
