Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu felicitates 137 individuals for exemplary service during Cyclone Montha

Vijayawada: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday felicitated those who rendered exemplary services during Cyclone Montha to prevent loss of life and property. He presented them with mementos and letters of appreciation. Naidu observed that the state govt successfully faced the challenge of the cyclone based on five principles, including advance monitoring, alert mechanisms, rescue and rehabilitation, and restoring normalcy.Acknowledging the technical expertise of the young team who led the operation from the Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) centre, Naidu said that the team spirit, coupled with technology, worked well in handling the cyclone. He mentioned that the integration of administration and services of people's representatives yielded wonderful results.The chief minister further noted that he witnessed the challenges of several cyclones in the past, but he was more satisfied with the handling of Cyclone Montha this time, using technology and restoring normalcy. He stated that cyclone alerts were sent to people in advance, using the data lake and Aware 2.0 platform of RTGS. A system was developed to make an advance alert announcement in a remote village secretariat directly from RTGS.Naidu mentioned that Kavali Nellore received the highest rainfall with the cyclone. He said the RTGS team predicted rainfall in advance and sent alerts to concerned regions for prior planning to prevent inundation. The services of drones were also used, saving a person, Sk Munna of Parchuru, while he was being washed away by a flooding stream. Likewise, 15 people were saved from a religious place using drone services.The chief minister suggested taking up Cyclone Montha handling as a case study to prepare for future cyclones. He said that the right decisions were made at the right time with the smart work of officials. He noted that 137 persons were identified for their exemplary services during the cyclone and were felicitated. He directed the district collectors to identify and felicitate those who rendered exemplary services during the cyclone. He stressed the need for using the services of people also during natural calamities. The minister for home and disaster management, Vangalapudi Anita, and officials were present.