The severe cyclonic storm Hudhud brought the entire State official machinery, barring a few, to the port city. The visiting officials had a taste of the cyclone the moment they entered the city on Monday. It was pitch dark with no power and no phones working. As a matter of routine, they landed at the Circuit House for accommodation only to be told that the supposed nerve centre of relief operations did not have a power back-up and no accommodation too. The staff at the Circuit House told them that there was no information regarding their visit and there was no way they could stay in the guest house without power or water. The officers had to fend for themselves . Some managed accommodation in hotels located as far as Anakapalle. They had no option but to drive back and stay put there. With some senior officers being given accommodation in star hotels, the rest were told to stay put in dingy lodgings.
Soft skill matters
During a meeting to review the progress of relief operations, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is reported to have praised a zonal commissioner when she claimed that in the area under her jurisdiction debris was cleared and all utilities restored. The CM later toured the area and did not find any debris. Interestingly, the following day, the same official complained that locals were throwing out debris from their homes and it had piled up on the road. The fact was that the debris was never cleared. The ‘smart’ official first managed to get Mr. Naidu’s praise and later, came up with a ‘satisfactory’ explanation too.
Chance and luck
coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous, they say. Officials of All India Radio, Visakhapatnam Kendra, are happy that Kakinada was selected to host the ‘Akasavani Sangeeta Sammelanam-2014’, an event conducted simultaneously in 42 cities across the nation on Saturday. Opting for a change this year, the officials chose Sri Suryakala Mandiram in Kakinada as the venue for the event and made arrangements one month in advance. This enabled them to conduct the event sans hassle. “Had the venue been Visakhapatnam, we wouldn’t have been in a position to conduct the event due to cyclone. Selection of Kakinada helped us in making the event a success,” said a senior official.
Hudhud and other woes
Srikakulam officials could handle Hudhud by and large at a satisfactory level but they struggled to provide facilities to Ministers and bureaucrats who rushed to the district to monitor relief operations. Several middle-level officers and staff were deputed to meet the requirements of the VIPs who were in need of vehicles, guest houses and food. Though most VIPs did not insist on facilities, their basic needs could not be ignored. The only relief was that top IAS officers did not express their resentment in spite of difficulties like lack of power and communication facilities. “It’s a Herculean task to arrange logistics at the time of crisis . But thankfully, we could manage things,” said an official.
(With inputs from G. S. Subrahmanyam in Visakhapatnam, K.N. Murali Sankar in Kakinada and K. Srinivas Rao in Srikakulam)
Mail to vijayawada@thehindu.co.in
