Relief work going on at brisk pace

• CM says power and water supply will be restored in Vizag city by Saturday evening
• Restoration of power in Srikakulam district is almost completed
• 1.31 lakh people are still taking shelter in relief camps

Visakhapatnam: Relief work in cyclone-hit north coastal districts continued at a brisk pace amid expectations that essential services would be restored in a major way by Saturday evening, six days after Hudhud struck the coastal belt.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the entire administration had been working hard to bring back normality in the affected areas. Power and water supply were restored to most of the localities in the port city of Visakhaptnam, he said.

Naidu expressed hope that by Saturday evening 80 per cent of the power restoration work would be completed, while 90 to 100 per cent of power supply and 90 per cent of communication services would be normal in the city.

Energy Department officials said efforts were being made to draw power from Odisha to tide over the crisis in the affected districts where supply has been drastically disrupted.

“As many as 1,000 people are working in Visakhapatnam rural and urban areas to restore power supply, 1,500 in Vizianagaram while others are deployed in Srikakulam for restoration work,” the officials said. Power supply work in Srikakulam was almost completed and all the 33/11 kv substations had been rectified.

As many as 38 people died, 43 were injured in the cyclone havoc in 320 villages of the cyclone-hit districts, while nearly 2.5 lakh people were affected.

Authorities have counted 11,318 damaged houses. More than 1.35 lakh people were taking shelter in 223 relief camps, where food was being provided to 6.85 lakh persons.