Cyclone Hudhud that battered the city on Sunday disrupted life.
Power supply was hit as poles were uprooted and transformers ripped out and strewn on the road. Numerous trees that got uprooted snapped the power lines. Without power there was neither water supply nor phone connectivity. Mobile networks were down in most parts of the city. There was no milk supply on Sunday or Monday morning in many parts of the city.
People who had not anticipated the severity of the cyclone made a beeline for street corner shops for milk and provisions. Long storage ultra heat treated milk was sold at a premium. Bread and other ready-to-eat foods quickly disappeared off the shelves.
“I bought everything but overlooked stocking up milk on Saturday evening and had to make do with black tea for the whole of Sunday,” consultant ophthalmologist U.S.N. Murthy said on Monday as he bought UHT milk. His cousin was fortunate as the milkman came to deliver milk at his doorstep later in the day.
“We had to get our neighbours to help clear the broken trees that blocked their homes as there were no civic staff or ministerial workers visible to clear the roads,” said company secretary of Visakha Industrial Water Supply Company Ltd Y. Subba Rao.
Glass shards from the facades of modern buildings and window panes lay scattered on the roads.
