Restoration works are underway on full swing in the cyclone ravaged Visakhapatnam. The restoration of power, telecommunications and water supply, besides rail and road is going on in full swing. Chief Secretary IYR Krishna Rao told our Correspondent that all out efforts are being made to restore power by this evening or by tomorrow. He said, five to six hundred relief teams are being mobilised to Visakhapatnam with the help of neighbouring states including Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Telangana.
The Chief Secretary said, the armed forces and the NDRF teams have already begun restoration works. He also said, the door to door enumeration of losses will be taken up very soon. He informed that one hundred tonnes of food material has been distributed through Navy crafts in the cyclone hit areas of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts.
Meanwhile, the BSNL landlines and broadband services have been restored in the cyclone affected areas. The State Government's Information Advisor Parkala Prabhakar has appealed to people of Visakhapatnam and other affected areas to make use of the services of the public telecommunicator to seek any assistance from the authorities. The state government has ordered 45 thousand electric polls while over 100 engineers and 500 field staff are working to restore electricity supply in the affected areas.
The South Central Railway has begun restoration works on full swing between Elemancheli- Narsingapalli-Bayyaram stations on Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section. Though initially, the authorities expected to completely restore by 15 kilometer long track this evening, the senior officials in eth SCR in Hyderabad said it will take another day and expected to be restored by tomorrow. The SCR is running two special trains between Hyderabad-Kakinada and Tuni-Tirupati mainly to clear the stranded passengers.
Meanwhile, the number of Hud Hud Cyclone related deaths have gone up to nine in Andhra Pradesh with four more deaths reported in Vizianagaram district. The State Disaster Relief Commission informed this to All India Radio. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting cyclone affected areas tomorrow. He will undertake an aerial survey in Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts. He will come to Visakhapatnam at around 1 pm tomorrow. The state authorities are making elaborate arrangements for his visit.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the situation at a Cabinet meeting held at the Visakhapatnam Collectorate this afternoon. The full details of the meeting are awaited but the cyclone effect was discussed mainly. Later, the Chief Minister directed the authorities to provide all amenities to the people who took shelter at the relief camps. He asked the officials to provide food, drinking water and milk for children.
