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Impact of Cyclone Gaja

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November 28, 2018

What is the issue?

  • Recently, Cyclone Gaja made its landfall between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu. Click here to know more.
  • The extent of damage caused by Cyclone Gaja is much worse than what was believed earlier and thus calls for an integrated relief effort.

How severe is the disaster?

  • The impact was not considered to have been this severe in the initial days after the cyclone stuck as the death toll was relatively low.
  • But Cyclone Gaja is a major disaster, and its economic impact in Tamil Nadu is comparable to that of the tsunami of 2004.
  • People - The suffering, the loss, and the displacement are of an enormous magnitude.
  • People are distraught as houses have collapsed, farms lie ruined, water sources are contaminated and electricity supply remains disrupted.
  • The Tamil Nadu government has estimated the number of people rendered homeless at 3.7 lakh, and houses destroyed at 3.4 lakh.
  • Livelihoods - The cyclone has crippled agriculture and livelihoods, felling thousands of productive trees and killing livestock.
  • The districts of Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Pudukottai are the severely affected.
  • These are the fertile Cauvery delta districts which are considered the granary of the state of Tamil Nadu.

 

  • The cyclone swept in wind and water, destroying lakhs of trees.
  • These include commercial coconut, banana, cashew, mango, jackfruit, casuarina, betelvine, eucalyptus, teak and sugarcane on thousands of hectares.
  • Between 60% and 80% of the coconut trees in the region have fallen.
  • Notably, these contribute a quarter of India’s coconuts with the highest unit yield.
  • Unlike paddy or many other crops, bringing coconut plantations back to life will take years.
  • The paddy crop of the samba/thaladi seasons was also damaged in some places.
  • Boats and huts of fishermen were destroyed. Nearly a lakh tonne of stocks in salt pans in Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district were washed away.
  • Ecosystem - The Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance for conservation), was ravaged.
  • Carcasses of blackbuck, spotted deer, feral horses and birds were washed on the shores of Karaikal in Puducherry.

What lies ahead?

  • Infrastructure - Tamil Nadu government's top priority should be to restore administrative systems and service delivery in the affected areas.
  • Many areas still remain inaccessible because fallen trees have blocked roads.
  • Physical access, electricity connections and public health facilities are essential for effective relief work to be undertaken.
  • Compensation - The farm insurance under Centre’s Fasal Bima Yojana covers only food crops, oilseeds and annual horticultural crops.
  • But many of the farmers have invested in various trees and livestock, expecting long-term returns.
  • The large number of stricken farmers should thus be assured of a moratorium on any agricultural loans that they have taken.
  • A fair and special compensation scheme should be prepared.
  • The state government has given the Centre a memorandum seeking nearly Rs. 15,000 crore for restoration, rehabilitation and mitigation, besides Rs. 1,431 crore for immediate relief work.
  • The State’s requirements should be met in full.

 

Source: The Hindu

 

Quick Fact

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

  • The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme) was launched in 2016.
  • It envisages a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for Kharif crops and 1.5% for Rabi crops.
  • The premium for annual commercial and horticultural crops will be 5%.
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