Demanding more relief to the cyclone-hit farmers and fishermen in Srikakulam district, Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan has said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu failed to put across the magnitude of the calamity to the outside world and turned it into a PR exercise.
Addressing the media here on Monday after a six-day tour of the district in 48 villages covering 700 km, about 30 km on foot, he said the grievance that the Union government should help persisted but the Chief Minister had to make a forceful plea by furnishing all the information including visuals, adding it was not the time to prove a point. He said not announcing any aid immediately on grounds of personal differences was not correct.
The State was discriminated against by the Central government but the Chief Minister making contradictory statements was not helping either. Instead of dealing comprehensively with the aftermath, celebrating victory rallies and felicitating officials was sending wrong signals to the Union government. There had been administrative failure, but the Chief Minister was misleading stating that everything was fine, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said. If leaders came with him by walk he would show the actual situation. If one part of the village got relief the other did not and there was discrimination on party lines, he alleged. He charged the government with collective failure to alert people to the danger of the cyclone leaving them totally unprepared. Mr. Pawan Kalyan demanded that the Central and State governments announce a special package of ₹1 lakh to fishermen who lost their boats and nets. The loans of coconut farmers be waived and a compensation of ₹3000 per a tree should be paid. For one hectre of paddy ₹40,000 should be given as compensation and for horticulture crops it should be ₹50,000, he demanded.
There appeared to be total confusion even about the number of electric poles damaged and against the claims of the government that 900 teams were working, only 150 were in action, he pointed out.
Short-term measure
Former Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar said as a short-term measure books and pens would be given to students in schools, medical camps conducted and water packets and blankets would be distributed by seven JSP teams in each of the seven affected mandals.
