Hudhud Cyclone Havoc

Hudhud Cyclone Havoc
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Highlights

It is now more than two months since the Hudhud struck the city causing extensive damage to the railway station and the airport but the repair work has been going at a snail pace. Passengers at the railway station have no option but brave bone-chilling cold a roof on majority of platforms was blown away by the high speed winds. Almost all the platforms and

Repair works at airport, railway station at snail’s pace

  • Passengers are forced to wait in bone-chilling cold on platforms
  • Roof over most of platforms were ripped up
  • Travellers at the airport are forced to walk on the tarmac to reach the aircraft and board using the traditional ladder.

Visakhapatnam: It is now more than two months since the Hudhud struck the city causing extensive damage to the railway station and the airport but the repair work has been going at a snail pace. Passengers at the railway station have no option but brave bone-chilling cold a roof on majority of platforms was blown away by the high speed winds. Almost all the platforms and service buildings lost the asbestos cover which served as roof.

Similarly the passengers at the airport are forced to walk on the tarmac to reach the aircraft and board using the traditional ladder. The three aerobridges cannot be operated as the roof has been blown away. Though the airport set a record by restoring air services within a week after cyclone struck the city, the repair work are yet to be completed.

Restoration works seen at airport. (Right) A view of roofless platform at the railway station in Visakhapatnmam

Officials said the airport suffered damage to the tune of Rs 100 crore and there was delay in securing funds. Sources said the agency that was entrusted with the job of building roof has been finding it difficulty in sourcing the sheets and roofing material. Only 50 per cent of the job was so far completed but the director of airport C Pattabhi said all the work would be completed by January 15.

The Waltair division suffered damage to the tune of Rs 71 crore. In a reply to a question in Parliament on Monday, Union Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha told local MP K Haribabu that repair work was taken up immediately on October 13 except for Koraput-Kotthavalasa where 44 locations were damaged due to felling of trees. However the traffic on this line was restored on November 9. The Minister said Ministry of Home Affairs had been requested to release funds from State Disaster Relief Fund and National Disaster Response Fund.

An official of Waltair division Jayram Birlangi said Rs 4 crore was needed to complete the roofing of all the platform and 40 per cent of the work had been completed. “We are currently focusing on taking up repairs to 2,300 railway quarters damaged by the cyclone,’’ he said.

By:KMP Patnaik

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