Team Herald
PANJIM: Though the Union Home Minister Amit Shah had assured to send a Central team to visit the flood-affected areas including Goa to assess the damage; the coastal State does not figure in the list of States identified for the spot assessment by the Central Government.
Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on August 24 constituted Inter-Ministerial Central teams (IMCTs) to visit the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala affected by recent floods.
Several parts of Goa, specially the Northern belt, were severely affected due to flooding. Several villages in Bardez, Pernem and Bicholim talukas were inundated for days. The agriculture damage itself is around Rs nine crore.
Shah, who had chaired the 24th meeting of the Western Zonal Council in Goa last week, had expressed his deep concern for the flood victims in the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa.
In a press statement issued post meeting, it was said that Shah has requested the States to quickly assess the damage caused by the floods and send their requirements to the Government of India.
“He (Shah) also mentioned that the Government of India has taken an initiative to assess the damage on its own, for which Central teams have already been constituted to visit the flood-affected areas without waiting for the reports from the States,” the press statement mentioned.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who was also a part of the meeting, had earlier this month informed the State Legislative Assembly that government would approach Centre for financial package towards relief to the flood-affected people.
