Cyclone Arnab: Centre Pledges Help as Andhra Pradesh Seeks Aid

New Delhi, October 29: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken to the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha and Chhattisgarh regarding Cyclone Arnab and has promised all possible help to minimise the hardships caused by the calamity.

Shah, in a post on X, said he had conveyed his assurance to the four chief ministers that the Centre would support them in every way to reduce the difficulties faced by people. According to him, NDRF and SDRF teams are active and continuing rescue and relief operations on a war footing. He added that an IMCT will be dispatched soon to assess the impact and to provide further assistance.

He reiterated that the Government of India stands firmly with the people during this crisis.

On October 28, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had telephoned Shah to inform him about the major damage caused by Cyclone Arnab in the state.

Naidu, in his own post on X, said he had told the Union Home Minister about the heavy losses to agricultural and horticultural crops, power infrastructure, roads and other public assets. He also informed Shah about the intense rainfall in the cyclone-hit districts, the current conditions there, and the extensive relief and rescue operations being carried out by the state government.

Considering the widespread destruction, Naidu requested that central teams be sent without delay to assess the losses and to enable financial assistance from the Government of India for relief, rehabilitation and restoration work. He had earlier written to Shah urging that a central team be deployed at the earliest for the damage assessment.