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A date with disaster
Hudhud is now a part of Vizag history. Now the whole world is appreciating for cleanliness and green cover the city has. Vizag is the first city in the country to be hit directly by a super cyclone which had a wind speed of 240 km per hour.
Visakhapatnam: Hudhud is now a part of Vizag history. Now the whole world is appreciating for cleanliness and green cover the city has. Vizag is the first city in the country to be hit directly by a super cyclone which had a wind speed of 240 km per hour.
- Vizagites resilience applauded
- World pats city for cleanliness and green cover
It destroyed scores of houses, industries, business establishments and uprooted a large number of trees. The city was stripped off its green cover and the trail of destruction instilled a sense of fear among the people. But within one week it was back on the rail and set a world record in restoration.
“Airport was restored faster than many cities in the US that are normally hit by typhoons,’’ said local MP Dr K Haribabu. People are appreciating the resilience shown by the local people. They gained confidence after Chief Minister N Chandrababu who spent over a week supervising the operations.
And year later several global meets were held which include two partnership summits and International Fleet Review. All the delegates were in praise after visiting the city. “They were impressed with the cleanliness and the green cover. The city is now covered with 20 per cent greenery which is a remarkable achievement,’’ said MLA P Vishnu Kumar Raju.
But the Opposition parties are raising hue and cry over providing houses to those who lost in the cyclone and compensation to the medium and small industries. Steel plant suffered Rs 1,000 crore losses, Hindustan Shipyard Rs 450 crore. Visakhapatnam Port Trust Rs 250 crore and HPCL Rs 108 crore. The Steel Plant and HPCL are yet to get any compensation. Shipyard got Rs 200 crore.
“The city regained its green cover on its own without much intervention of the government. The administration need to give houses to those who lost in the cyclone. Around 26,000 houses were completely damaged and none was allotted a house till now,’’ said city secretary of CPM Dr B Ganga Rao.
The government announced 12,000 houses and received funds from corporate bodies for another 4,000. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the city soon after the cyclone, and announced an immediate relief of Rs 1,000 crore. Not a rupee has been sent so far, Ganga Rao said.
The local administration is also reluctant to give details on the funds received so far and how they were spent, he said.
Project director of Housing Board PMGS Prasad said 9,170 houses were sanctioned for the Hudhud victims of Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram and of them 5,468 were allotted to Visakhapatnam city. “Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated 768 houses recently and another 1,800 will be ready by December,’’ Prasad said.
By KMP Patnaik
