Two weeks ago to the day, the city was reeling under gale, rain, and sea spray. Trees got uprooted and fell on electric lines and cables. The fallen trees and many standing trees that were shorn off their green canopies dried up giving a deathly look to the city.
Even as the entire State machinery under the direct supervision of Super Relief Commissioner and CEO of the State worked overtime to restore semblance of normalcy to the city, institutions like Andhra University were left with debris of trees and fallen branches waiting for someone to come and clean up the mess left behind by cyclone Hudhud.
Sunday morning an army of 500 volunteers of all age groups and different walks of life descended on the university campus to clear the debris. There were a few children below 10 and there was an 82-year-old retired professor of pharmacy of Andhra University among the 450-odd members of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh who were working systematically clearing the debris sector by sector. The volunteers plunged their hands into the dirt and cleared the roads of the iconic 88-year-old university campus.
Earth moving machinery and tippers provided by the GVMC and some construction groups helped load the debris and shift it to a stacking ground. The stockpile of wood would be auctioned on Monday and the buyer would have to clear it within 15 days.
There was a group of 50 volunteers from SVS Seva Samithi working near the Vice-Chancellor’s Lodge. A group of NCC cadets were clearing up the debris at the NCC office near the out gate.
Some of the seniors recalled when the green campaign was undertaken in 1979 and how the greenery was an envy of other educational institutions. Taking a look at the ravaged trees the elderly wondered if they would live to see the campus so green again.
