"The Centre is fully with the people of Andhra Pradesh. Both governments are working hand in hand," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi after visiting parts of the worst-affected port city, Visakhapatnam, in October 2014. He even announced an interim relief of ₹1,000 crore to the State for the devastation caused by the Hudhud cyclone but, in the end, Andhra Pradesh received a mere ₹400 crore.
Exactly after four years, Titli hit the State throwing life out of gear in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts. As per the preliminary estimates, the cyclone caused a damage of ₹3,435 crore. Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu sought an interim relief of ₹1,200 crore to take up relief measures in the affected areas.
The intriguing question arises in minds of people is to what extent the Central government would help the State. Their doubts are not unfounded given the previous assistance. The State government took up the restoration work, without waiting for the Central government assistance and normalcy was restored in a record time.
Mr. Naidu, when both the TDP and the BJP shared power in the State and at the Centre urged Mr. Modi to release ₹2,000 crore as interim assistance for Hudhud cyclone relief measures. But, Mr. Modi announced only ₹1,000 crore. Meanwhile, a Central team visited to assess the losses.
As days passed, the Central government did not keep the assurance of the interim relief of ₹1,000 crore nor heeded the request to release an immediate ₹9,857 crore.
Now, the talk is Mr. Modi’s comments during the Hudhud cyclone. "It is important to note that a crisis of any magnitude can be overcome if the state and Centre work shoulder-to-shoulder," he had said during his visit to the State. Surprisingly, hardly any BJP leader was seen commenting on the cyclone and the assistance required. In fact, the Opposition YSR Congress party and the Jana Sena Party (JSP) too were not vocal in this regard.
The Ministers submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who visited the State to participate in a BJP programme, at the Gannavaram airport on Tuesday. Mr. Naidu even dashed a letter to Mr. Modi detailing the need for Central assistance. The Central team is yet to visit the State to assess the loss.
