Central team on visit to Arunachal Pradesh to assess damage

Their visit is aimed to assess the damages caused due to natural disasters during 2012 in the state and verify the worst affected areas, official sources said here today.

Chief Minister Nabam Tuki had been pressing the Centre for sending a high-level central team for assessment of the flood-affected areas.

The team of five representing various ministries would be conducting aerial and field survey of flood affected districts of Lower Subansiri, Lower Dibang Valley, Changlang, East Siang, Dibang Valley, Lohit, Anjaw, Papumpare, East Kameng and West Kameng.

The worst affected areas will be physically inspected by the visiting team.

Tuki apprised the visiting central team about the lives and property losses in the state during 2012.

The team had called on him yesterday.

Tuki pointed out that the preceding year had witnessed the worst disaster as nature had created havoc disrupting surface communication for months and claimed numerous lives and damaged properties.

The state being a flood prone zone, a comprehensive plan for flood protection is required for minimising the life and property losses in such natural disasters, Tuki asserted.

The chief engineers of the state gave a statistical figure of the loss caused due to landslides and landslips which disrupted the surface communication, the sources said. The team included Deena Nath, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Rajpal Singh, Director Planning Commission, Deepak Kumar, SE Ministry of Water Resources and Ravi Prasad, Regional Officer, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.