Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an aerial survey to the port city of Visakhapatnam on Tuesday to assess the losses even as people struggled to deal with the devastation caused by the cyclonic storm Hudhud.
Modi announced an immediate assistance of Rs1,000 crore for the Andhra Pradesh Government to carry out the relief operations and help the victims. He also announced ex-gratia of Rs2 lakh to the family of each deceased and Rs50,000 to the injured.
At least 21 people were killed and scores of others were injured in the cyclone in Andhra Pradesh. Modi visited the damaged Visakhapatnam Airport and other badly affected areas of the city. He assured all possible assistance. “We will stand with the people of Visakhapatnam till normalcy is restored,” he told the media.
“We are with the State Government in this hour of crisis”.
He was all praise for the State Government for effectively using the weather forecasting and cyclone warning facilities to minimise the loss of life in the face of such a power cyclone.
“The joint efforts by the Centre and the State Governments to minimise the damage have borne fruits. This was possible only due to the perfect minute to minute coordination between the two,” the Prime Minister said. He also praised the people of Andhra Pradesh for cooperating with the State Government in facing a difficult situation. Modi also lauded the role of Navy, Coast Guard and Army in the rescue and relief efforts.
Regretting that the ready to harvest crops were damaged by the cyclone, the Prime Minister assured the farmers and the State Government to talk to the insurance companies on ways to help the victims.
Urging the people not to lose hope, Modi reassured them that the normalcy will be restored very soon. Committing himself to develop Visakhapatnam into a smart city, the Prime Minister said that he had discussed this plan even during his visit to the USA. He regretted that the city was devastated at such a time when plans to develop it in to a smart city were afoot.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu briefed the Prime Minister about the extent of property damage.
later, the Prime Minister attended a review meeting with the senior officials at the district collectorate. Officials also organised a photo exhibition depicting the large scale devastation caused by the cyclone.
Naidu, who is camping in the city since Monday and supervising relief operations, had written to the Centre seeking an immediate assistance of Rs 2,000 crore. He also demanded that the cyclone be declared a national calamity.