Two days after severe cyclonic storm Hudhud battered the coast, the city of 18 lakh remained under darkness. Lack of water supply has hit them hard. There is no piped water supply of drinking water. The motor pumps installed in houses and apartments are not functioning as the power supply is yet to be restored.
Citizens complained that authorities have failed to supply water through tankers. Cashing in on the situation are greedy retailers, who are selling 20 liter water bottle for Rs 300.
Women holding their children were seen running around for milk. Many of them were standing in serpentine queues. At some places half-liter packet is being sold for Rs 50, twice its actual price.
With roads connecting the city to neighbouring districts yet to be cleared, milk and other essential commodities have not reached.
Mobile phones are not functioning in the city for third day as telecom services are yet to be restored. ATM machines are also not working.
Visakhapatnam, the biggest city in the state, still looks like a war zone with streets filled with felled trees, electricity poles, communication towers, wires, shattered pieces of glass and other debris.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were busy clearing the roads. Officials said they were trying their best to restore electricity by Tuesday evening.
Naidu orders arrest of telecom officials to restore services
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday asked police to arrest officials of telecom service providers and bring them to him if they fail to attend their duties to restore services in this port city.
Naidu, who is camping in cyclone-hit city since Monday, expressed his unhappiness over the functioning of telecom companies.
"I have asked police to arrest them and bring them to the meetings to review the situation," Naidu told reporters on Tuesday.
Warning that he will be harsh with all agencies concerned, the chief minister wanted them to restore communication facilities by Wednesday.
"People are in distress. These companies have to come to their rescue. They can't just make profits when people are happy and desert them when they are in trouble," said Naidu.
The chief minister said he wants the officials to brief him by evening of the measures taken to restore the services and explain the reasons for the delay in rectifying towers.
READ ALSO: Hudhud batters Andhra Pradesh: Restoring power a tough task
(Gone with the wind: The Visakhapatnam airport lies in a shambles.)
The cyclone which hit the coast near this city on Sunday with a gale speed of 185kmph claimed 21 lives in three north coastal districts — Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vijayanagaram.
About 600,000 people have taken shelter in relief camps set up by authorities in the three districts and adjoining East Godavari. The natural disaster has damaged nearly 7,000 houses, destroyed electricity and communication networks and paralysed transport.
(Boats washed ashore in the storm lie in a mangled heap on Vizag beach.)
State-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC) resumed services in some parts of the region. However, train services were affected for the third day while air services to and from Visakhapatnam are yet to be resumed.
In Srikakulam district, which also remained without electricity, few villages were marooned. Some low-lying areas in Srikakulam town were also inundated. However, the district authorities heaved a sigh of relief as water levels receded in Nagavali and Vamsadhara rivers.
(Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu had to take shelter under an umbrella while surveying the havoc wreaked by cyclone Hudhud.)
PM Modi to visit cyclone-hit Andhra today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit cyclone-hit Visakhapatnam and other parts of north coastal Andhra on Tuesday.
Modi will reach the port city by a special aircraft at 1.15pm, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said. After landing at the airport, he will visit beach and some other parts of the city, which bore the brunt of cyclone Hudhud.
Naidu told reporters here that Modi will review the situation at a meeting to be held at the office of district collector. He will then undertake an aerial survey of the other affected areas.
The chief minister said he would brief the Prime Minister of the situation and give him details of the devastation caused by the cyclone.
Naidu had already written to Modi to declare it a national calamity and provide Rs 2,000 crore as interim relief.
http://ift.tt/1qb2OVB Hudhud,Visakhapatnam remains without power
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