Rushikonda lies in a shambles

Tourists shifted from Rushikonda to Haritha Resort opposite Appu Ghar, following the massive damage. While the APTDC resort perched atop the hill paints a devastating picture of the impact of the cyclone, for the fishing community and the local shops dotting the popular Rushikonda beach, it seemed like ‘an end of the road’.

Stranded tourists from Kolkata at Haritha Resort near Appu Ghar after Cyclone Hudhud cut off all air and rail routes in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. Photo: K.R. Deepak

The once bustling scenic tourist locale of Rushikonda now lies in shambles after the havoc wrought by cyclonic storm Hudhud. All the cottages of the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) at Rushikonda were badly damaged.

Rushikonda is one of the most popular tourist locations which receives tourists from West Bengal, Odisha and other States during the peak tourism months of October-December. “The damage and impact of the cyclone has been the most in this place. Almost all the rooms are damaged,” G. Bhima Sankara Rao, Special Officer and General Manager, APTDC told The Hindu .

The total extent of damage will be assessed by the APTDC officials in a day or two and a plan of action will be formulated accordingly, Mr. Rao added. All the tourists have been shifted from Rushikonda to Haritha Resort opposite Appu Ghar, following the massive damage. Roads leading to APTDC’s Jungle Bells Resort at Tyda have also been badly damaged.

Following the news of the devastating effect of the cyclone, tourists have been cancelling the hotel rooms booked earlier. And those caught in the cyclone here are now heading to Bhubaneshwar by road. Aparna Rai, a tourist from Kolkata said: “It is horrifying to see the destruction around. Our hotel room’s ACs conked off. We are surviving on basic food items by paying five times the cost. It is hard to imagine this is the same city that we saw on Saturday. We are leaving for Bhubaneshwar now.” APTDC has mobilised two cars and eight busses for transferring the tourists to Odisha.

While the APTDC resort perched atop the hill paints a devastating picture of the impact of the cyclone, for the fishing community and the local shops dotting the popular Rushikonda beach, it seemed like ‘an end of the road’. The stalls were the only livelihood of the vendors who used to sell refreshments, local handmade shell crafts and other small items for the tourists. The fishermen at Rushikonda have lost all their boats to the enormous intensity of the cyclonic storm that engulfed the coast. Left with nothing but hope, the fishermen and vendors have been without food and water for the past 48 hours.