Central team visits areas hit by landslip in Tiruvannamalai

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A three-member inter-Ministerial team, deputed by the Union government to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Fengal to crops and propertyto crops and property, visited the landslip and flood-affected areas in Tiruvannamalai district on Tuesday.

The team comprised R. Saravanan, Director, Ministry of Jal Shakti; S. Dhanabalan Kumaran, Engineer, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; and K.M. Balajee, Assistant Director, Ministry of Rural Development.

Accompanied by Tiruvannamalai Collector D. Bhaskara Pandian, the team began the day-long exercise at the landslip site of Arunachala Hills near Arunachaleswara temple by inspecting the extent of damage caused by the cyclone-induced heavy rain to the hillock.

The team also inspected eroded soil, boulders and damaged houses in the hills. They were apprised of the death of seven persons including children in the landslip on December 1.

The team also assessed the damage to roads in villages such as Chinnakangiyanur, Sammandanur and crops in Komalur village. Farmers and officials apprised the team of the extent of damage in the district while the team explained the losses using photographs.

The members visited villages, where public facilities such as roads, culverts and bridges in the downstream areas of Sathanur dam along Thenpennai River, were damaged. They also inspected the collapsed bridge at Agarampallipattu village near Thandrampattu. The ₹15.90 crore bridge was inaugurated by the Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports, E.V. Velu, on September 2. However, the bridge collapsed on December 3, due to discharge of floodwater into the river.

As per estimates, the district has a total of 3,995 cattle as livestock including goats and fowls. Of the 985 houses damaged in the cyclone, 825 were in Tiruvannamalai. Chengam, Kilpennathur, Thandrampattu were the other severely affected areas. In fact, Thandrampattu taluk alone suffered the district’s total loss of 3,600 fowls. The estimated loss occurred between December 1 and 10.

Agriculture officials said that a two-member team – assistant agriculture officer and the VAO – had been enumerating total crop loss at the village level, as the water had subsided in the affected areas. “As per norms, crop damage to an extent of 33 percent and above for every one acre of cultivable land will be eligible for compensation. The enumeration exercise in the district will be completed in a day or two,” S. Sundaram, deputy director (Agriculture), Tiruvannamalai, told The Hindu.

Of the total 1,13,004 hectares of land under cultivation, 52,207 hectares were affected by the cyclone. Among major crops, paddy was the most affected, covering 32,274 hectares (total area 71,500 hectares), followed by 12,851 hectares of pulses (28,518 hectares) and 4,924 hectares of groundnut (10,235 hectares).