Cyclone Fani caused Tk 536 cr of damage: State minister

The damage caused by cyclone Fani, which hit Bangladesh earlier this month, has been estimated to be Tk 536.61 crore, the government said today.

It affected the environment, infrastructure and livelihood of the people when it swept across the country.

"The cyclone flooded 63,000 hectares of land and destroyed crops on 1,800 hectares," State Minister for Disaster Management Enamur Rahman said after a meeting on assessing the damage and chalking out rehabilitation plans.

"The agriculture department suffered Tk 38 crore of damage ... Recommendations have been made to waiver debts and provide subsidy to farmers in Fani-hit areas," he said.

Apart from this, Tk 251 crore will be needed to repair 21.95km stretches of embankments at 240 places, he said, adding that the damage to roads is about Tk 161.63 crore.

The forestry suffered a damage of Tk 5 crore while the amount was Tk 2.84 crore for fisheries. He said that Tk 78.14 crore will be needed to repair 2,063 damaged houses.

"The rehabilitation will be done quickly at the prime minister's order," he said.