Laila leaves a trail of destruction

Laila Cyclone caused extensive damage to standing crops in the Coastal areas.  Revenue  Minister Dharmana  Prasada Rao  speaking to the  media  said ``  agricultural crops in 5,800 hectare were destroyed . The  break up is   4,000 hectares in Krishna, 800 hectares in Prakasam, 396 in Kadapa, 275 in Nellore and 288 hectare in East Godavari were badly affected.’’

Referring to the loss incurred by fishermen, the minister said that 260 boats in Prakasam, one each in Krishna and Vizianagaram districts worth Rs 64.15 lakhs were found missing.

``A total of 1,450 boats, including 490 boats in Krishna, 355 in Nellore, 540 in Prakasam, 30 in Guntur, 20 in Visakhapatnam, 12 in Srikakulam and three in Vizianagaram suffered damage resulting in loss of Rs 139.52 lakhs,’’ he added.

The salt  ponds  also  have been  a badly affected  due to the  cyclone. The  number of  salt  ponds   affected in West  Godavari  district alone are   5,095. Apart from this  761 hectare of brackish water culture ponds were inundated.

One hundred and eight  electric  sub stations  were damaged plunging 1047 villages  into darkness.