Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said power supply would be restored in a couple of days in all cyclone affected areas as the administration was working on a war footing to re-establish the power network.
He said the government was trying to supply power from Thursday itself as the administration faced teething problems in restoring supply. “Over 40,000 poles were uprooted due to cyclone. Transmission lines were completely disrupted. We are striving hard to restore electricity in all the places including villages,” he said.
Mr. Naidu toured in Dibbapalem and Mukkam villages of Vizianagaram in the afternoon. Later, he visited Modalavalasa of Amadalavalasa mandal and interacted with the Nagavali flood victims in Srikakulam town. Earlier, he distributed cheques to affected families in Dibbapalem village.
The government announced Rs. 5 lakh compensation for families of victims who died in the cyclone apart from financial support of Rs. 2 lakh from the Union government. Speaking to victims, Mr. Naidu assured that the government would provide Rs.50,000 for reconstruction of houses under Indira Awas Yojana and release Rs. 25,000 for houses which were partially damaged.
The Chief Minister announced that the government was trying to release essential commodities to all cyclone victims of North Andhra region free of cost. At Modalavalasa in Srikakulam district he expressed concern over the huge damage to crops.
He said the officials had constantly monitored the flood level at Nagavali and could stop human loss. He interacted with residents of Krishna Park area of Srikakulam town as they were stranded in Nagavali floodwaters for the last couple of days. Some of the locals said they could not get immediate help from municipal authorities. Labour Minister K. Atchannaidu, Srikakulam Collector Gaurav Uppal and others explained him about the efforts being taken up to restore normalcy in the district. They said human loss was prevented by alerting the people about the intensity of the cyclone. Meanwhile, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Vice Chancellor H. Lajipathirai and Red Cross Society chairman P. Jaganmohana Rao told Mr. Naidu about the social service activities being taken in flood affected areas.
(With inputs from V. Chalapathi Rao)
