Modi reaches Visakhapatnam
VISHAKHAPATNAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here Tuesday afternoon to visit cyclone-hit Visakhapatnam and other parts of north coastal Andhra. Soon after landing at Visakhapatnam Airport, he inspected the facility extensively damaged by cyclonic storm Hudhud Sunday. Officials briefed him about the damages.
Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, central government ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu and Ashok Gajapati Raju received him at the airport.
Modi will visit the beach and some other parts of the city, which bore the brunt of the cyclone. Modi will review the situation at a meeting to be held at the office of district collector. He will then undertake an aerial survey of the other affected areas.
The chief minister earlier said he would brief the prime minister of the situation and give him details of the devastation caused by the cyclone.
Naidu had already written to Modi to declare it a national calamity and provide Rs.2,000 crore as interim relief.
Nature's Fury
The disaster management department of Andhra Pradesh said in a statement this morning that the death toll in the tragedy stood at 21.
The department said over 1.35 lakh people are taking shelter in the relief camps and 5,62,000 are being provided with food.
The residents of Visakhapatnam, a picturesque location in the east coast of the country and a major industrial, educational and tourism hub, continued to reel under the crisis of not having electricity and communication network.
Many residents complained of power woes and acute shortage of essential items like milk and food and petrol. Taking advantage of the situation, some traders were selling the essential items at exorbitant prices, they alleged.
News Posted: 14 October, 2014
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