Amaravati, 30 October (H.S.): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday reviewed relief and restoration measures following Cyclone Arnab, directing officials to give priority to restoring electricity in affected areas and ensure assistance reaches every affected household.

The Chief Minister has been monitoring the situation for the past four days through teleconferences, video conferences and visits to affected areas. Before leaving for Mogalthur on Friday, he held another review meeting with officials, who briefed him on the progress of restoring electricity, roads and mobile communication services.

Naidu directed officials to continue relief and restoration work until all affected people receive assistance and normal services are restored. Power restoration has been accelerated with support mobilised from other states.

According to the latest figures presented during the review, electricity has been restored in 4,881 of the 5,404 villages affected in the APEPDCL service area. Of the 552 affected substations, 513 have been restored, accounting for about 93 per cent, while work is pending at 39 substations.

Power supply has been restored in all affected villages in Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Kakinada and Eluru districts. Of the 509 affected 33 kV feeders, 489 have been restored. Similarly, 2,355 of the 2,958 affected 11 kV feeders have been restored.

Restoration work is continuing in the severely affected districts of Konaseema and West Godavari. Electricity has been restored in 87 of the 316 affected villages in Konaseema and 154 of the 318 affected villages in West Godavari. In Krishna district, power supply has been restored in 867 of the 915 affected villages under APCPDCL.

Mobile communication services are also being restored. Of the 1,045 mobile towers affected across various operators, 661 have been restored, while work remains pending at 384 towers.

All 2,270 trees that fell on Roads and Buildings (R&B) department roads have been cleared, including 1,334 in Konaseema district. Traffic was disrupted at 137 locations on R&B roads, of which connectivity has been restored at 119 locations. The cyclone damaged 2,425.45 km of R&B roads. At one location in Srikakulam district, traffic is being allowed on one side of the road due to flowing water.

Temporary restoration has been completed at all 100 affected locations under the Water Resources Department, comprising 78 tanks and 22 canals.

The cyclone and associated rainfall submerged agricultural crops across 3,52,254 hectares in 16 districts, while horticultural crops were affected across 23,211 hectares. Naidu said Central teams were expected to visit the state to assess crop damage. The state government was preparing to present the extent of losses and seek Central assistance.

Rainfall between October 26 and 29 is estimated to have generated around 380 TMC of water across the state, with flood inflows continuing. Officials informed the Chief Minister that effective water management had added 4.68 TMC to reservoir storage, with another 5-6 TMC expected.

Minor irrigation tanks have received 22 TMC of water, with a further 8-12 TMC expected. Groundwater reserves are estimated to have increased by around 44 TMC. Forecasts for the next five days indicate inflows of approximately 16.24 TMC into Gotta Barrage and 12.01 TMC into Madduvalasa Reservoir.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar