Pawan Kalyan moots insurance cover for fishing boats in Andhra Pradesh

UPPADA Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan has directed the Fisheries Department to examine the feasibility of introducing a State-level insurance policy for fishing boats and prepare a draft proposal. Kakinada District Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad has been asked to submit a ground-level report on the initiative, incorporating a case study of the damage caused to fishing boats along the Uppada coast during Cyclone Arnab.

During a virtual review meeting with Kakinada district officials and representatives of various departments on relief and restoration measures following the cyclone, Mr. Pawan Kalyan stressed the need to expedite the proposed ₹323-crore sea protection wall to safeguard the Uppada coastal belt from erosion. The State government has recently proposed extending the wall from Uppada village to Konapapapeta, and the proposal is under review by the National Disaster Management Authority.

He also emphasised the need to lay a new road to replace the Kakinada-Uppada beach road, which was washed away during the cyclone. Mr. Harendhira Prasad said more than 10,000 people affected by the cyclone had been accommodated in relief camps, most of them from coastal areas. Kakinada Superintendent of Police G. Bindhu Madhav said 4,602 fishing boats had been anchored as part of the precautionary measures.

Kakinada Rural MLA Pantham Nanaji, Rural Development Department Commissioner Krishna Teja, APEPDCL CMD Pruthvi Teja and other officials participated in the virtual meeting from Uppada.