Is climate change behind cyclones hitting Konkan?

The battering of the Konkan belt by two cyclones in a short period has pushed authorities to ponder on the need for roping in experts to carry out an extensive researchbased study to rule out any climate change effect in the regionAditi Thatkare State and Guardian Minister of Raigad district said ldquoKonkan has experienced heavy rainfall for centuries but our concern is about the two consecutive cyclones that the region has witnessed in less than a year though the extent of damage this time was comparatively lesser than last yearrsquos NisargardquoldquoWe are keen to rope in experts for an extensive study of the region especially the coastline and come up with affordable solutions which can curtail any loss of human life livestock property and even crops The houses across Konkan are the way they have always been designed and withstood climatic conditions with ease However the old claytiled roof has now been replaced either with asbestos or aluminium sheets along with Plaster of Paris false ceiling which makes the structures more vulnerable to cyclonesrdquo said AditiAlso Read Cyclone Tauktae Armed with chain saws Mumbai cops pitch in to clear treesThe minister said that about 6000 houses in Raigad have suffered partial damage this time while nearly 30 have been destroyed ldquoLast year the government had given Rs 15000 Rs 6000 from NDRF and Rs 9000 from state for houses that were partially damaged We are yet to get any announcement on the compensation so farrdquo Konkan suffered a loss of about Rs 300 crore due to NisargaAditi said 400500 mango cultivators in six talukas have sustained heavy losses apart from growers of bananas coconuts and betel nuts due to Tauktae Since Nisarga had hit in June 2020 the mango season was overMahad resident Sarkar Jalal said ldquoI know families who would take pride for owning over thousands of mango trees Last yearrsquos cyclone wiped them completely Those who could afford have again planted mangoes which will take over 10 years to bear fruits Unfortunately there was no financial aid from the governmentrdquoAditi said their priority is to get primary health care centres repaired ldquoLuckily all the vaccines were moved to locations with power backup We would continue with the vaccination programmerdquoShe said the extent of devastation caused by Nisarga had left everyone in shock She said ldquoEven though there was no clarity about Taukate land fall anywhere in Konkan belt we still were informed by IMD that our coastal area will be experiencing heavy to very heavy rainfall with high winds as the cyclone moves towards Gujarat passing through AlibaugrdquoRaigad Collector Nidhi Choudhary said the 12 transformers 426 LD poles 268 high tension poles of the Mahavitran got damaged in the district ldquoPower restoration work is on Also we have started doing the panchnama of damaged houses and the details will be sent to the state governmentrdquo She said Covid19 centres were given power and oxygen backup ldquoNo untoward incidents were reported from Covid19 centres and hospitals in the districtrdquo said the collectorEver since Nisarga left a trail of destruction Aditi said they moved several high tension poles from forested and marshy land to easily accessible areas ldquoOut of 1900 revenue villages in Raigad 1299 have already got back power and the remaining will get electricity in two to three daysrdquo She has also asked authorities to clear the debris of a huge overhead water tank that collapsed in AlibaugSearch on for the missingOfficials said a search is on to trace three men who were on a fishing boat along with four others when gusty winds snapped its anchor and pushed it to the sea near Deoghar of Sindhudurg Rescuers have so far recovered two bodies and brought as many to safetyMaha loss for MSEDCLPower distributor Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd or Mahavitaran has once again suffered losses due to damaged transmission infrastructure ldquoWe have already shortlisted Ratnagiri Alibaug and Satpati in Vasai area to lay underground cables under the lsquoNational Cyclone Risk Mitigation Projectrsquordquo said a senior official For the time being he said the priority is to fix overground wires and restore supply ldquoUnderground cabling costs five to six times more than laying cables over the surfacerdquoMore rescue operationsMeanwhile Indian Naval Ships Beas Betwa and Teg joined INS Kochi and Kolkata for a Search and Rescue operation for Barge P305 which sank 35 nautical miles off Mumbai Authorities have also roped in P8I and naval helicopters for an aerial search So far 180 survivors have been rescuedIn another operation an Indian Navy Seaking helicopter rescued 35 crew members of a GAL Constructor that ran aground North of MumbaildquoSAR efforts are also in progress off the coast of Gujarat for three vessels namely Support Station 3 Great Ship Aditi and Drill Ship Sagar Bhushanrdquo read a defence release