SATURDAY, MAY 04, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Monday issued directions to all government departments to work on a war footing to restore essential services and also assess the damage caused by Cyclone Tauktae in detail.
“I have instructed all the departments to prepare loss estimates which will be sent to the Centre,” Sawant said.
The CM held a video conference with head of all government departments, including North and South Goa Collectors, to review the status of the restoration works following the wide-spread damage caused by the cyclone.
At the review meeting, Sawant directed PWD and Electricity authorities to prioritise the restoration of work such as National Highway, bridges, interstate roads, power supply etc on a war footing. He added that the highways should be cleared by the end of Monday.
He added that he had asked the Power Department to restore power to hospitals and pharmaceutical companies immediately. He added that he expected the highways to be cleared by the end of Monday.
Stating that interdepartmental issues need to be resolved, the Chief Minister added that coordination between departments like Electricity, PWD, Police and Revenue should improve to collect and disseminate information so that immediate action is initiated for restoration of damages by the respective departments.
“The Power Department has suffered major losses. Approximately 700 electricity poles and 200 transformers have been damaged. The department should be able to restore power connection to all the affected villages by tomorrow (Tuesday)” Sawant told the media after the review meeting.
He also said that water supply should also be restored by Tuesday and asked people to be patient.
The CM urged Collectors to coordinate and supervise the issues of restoration of various services like water supply, electricity at the earliest.
“The agricultural sector has also suffered a huge loss. I have instructed the Agriculture Department officers to visit villages and assess the damage and loss caused with regards to crops, animals, etc,” he added.
Sawant also directed the District Collectors to assess the damage caused to government properties and private properties like houses, vehicles, boats etc.
“Relief will be provided to all those who have faced crop loss and also to those whose houses, vehicles have been damaged through disaster management funds and also through CM relief fund if need be. The government will try and help all those who faced losses. Panch members should also follow up with people” Sawant said.
The meeting was also attended by Revenue Minister Jennifer Monserrate, Power Minister Nilesh Cabral, PWD Minister Deepak Prabhu Pauskar as well as the Revenue Secretary, Director General of Police (DGP), South and North Goa Superintendents of Police (SPs), Director of Fire and Emergency Services, Chief Engineers of the PWD and Water Resources Department (WRD), Director of the Agriculture Department, amongst others.
The CM also tweeted about the problems with mobile and internet connectivity in the State. “People in Goa have been facing mobile network issues due to disruption caused by Tauktae cyclone. Intra-Circle Roaming (ICR) facility has now been activated across Goa. You can switch over to any network which is available in your area through the manual settings of your device,” Sawant tweeted.
Responding to queries from media persons, Sawant sought to downplay any major impact on hospitals. When pointed out that there were reports of water entering GMC, the Super Speciality block and the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium, Sawant replied stating that whenever there are cyclones of such intensity, such minor issues are bound to occur.
