Maharashtra CM announces ₹100 cr immediate relief for cyclone-hit Raigad

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday announced an immediate relief of Rs 100 crore for Raigad district, devastated by Cyclone Nisarga. The actual package, he said, will be announced after assessment of the situation there.

“We may approach Centre for relief package once the assessment is done,” Thackeray said.

Cyclone Nisarga had made landfall near Alibaug in Raigad district on June 3, causing widespread damage in the area.

There are roofless houses, collapsed walls and uprooted trees in the coastal villages of Raigad district, which was battered by the cyclone.

Nisarga made landfall in Shrivardhan taluka of the district on Wednesday afternoon with heavy rains and gusty winds of a speed of more than 110 to 120 kmph.

Metkarni village in Shrivardhan, with a population of around 700, is one of the worst-hit areas in the district.

Situated on a hilltop, the village suffered severe damage as several residents were rendered homeless and penniless because of the storm.

“There is nothing in my house now, the roof was blown away, a wall has collapsed and all essentials and utensils are damaged. Even my sewing machine, which was my only source of income, lies broken,” Sunita Salve, who did minor tailoring work to feed her parents and two children, told news agency PTI.

Salve and her family ran out of their home at the nick of time with whatever valuables they could carry when they heard someone shouting about the storm’s arrival.

“I urge the government to help people who have lost everything in the cyclonic storm,” Manjula Jadhav, another resident of the village, told PTI.

The situation is similar in villages of Harihareshwar, Murud, Tala, Pen, Mhasala and Roha, where the cyclone left a trail of destruction.

Thackeray visited the Raigad district on boat on Friday. The hour-long ride began from Bhaucha Dhakka in south Mumbai to Alibaug. Thackeray was accompanied by ministers Aditya Thackeray, Aslam Shaikh, Additional Chief Secretary A K Singh and other senior officials.