Modi announces Rs 1000 Cr relief to AP

Visakhapatnam, October 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced Rs 1000 crore as interim relief for the cyclone-hit Andhra Pradesh as he undertook a survey of the worst-affected city.

He also announced Rs 2 lakh for the family of those killed and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the tragedy caused by cyclone Hudhud.

Central government officials from various ministries would soon tour the region to assess damage and start work to restore normalcy, Mr. Modi told reporters.

He said restoring the basic needs such as water and electricity were the government's immediate priorities. 'The exact damage will be assessed in due course time. Meanwhile, I am announcing Rs 1000 crore as an interim relief,' he said.

'I was jumping with joy until very recently over making Vizag a smart city and now this crisis has hit us... We will soon come out of it. Government in its full strength is standing with the people,' he said.

He said farmers have suffered extensive damage and a detailed survey will evaluate their losses and the government will act accordingly.

Hailing the exact forecast about the cylone made by the Met Department, the Prime Minister said the 'perfect' use of technology prepared both Union as well as state governments to deal with the cyclone as from its timing to velocity and direction, all details were predicted accurately in advance.

'In a way, technology has played an important tole in dealing with the crisis,' he said.

The natural disaster, Modi said, also saw both the Centre and the state government working 'shoulder to shoulder' and it showed however 'grave' a problem they can deal with it successfully together.

Insurance companies will be asked to survey the damage and work out claims at the earliest, he said.

Earlier, Modi arrived in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday to review the damage wrought by Sunday's Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Hudhud.

He was received at the airport by Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu and P Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Ministers Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and Kamineni Srinivas and Visakhapatnam MP and BJP State president K Haribabu.

The Prime Minister was briefed about the damage to the superstructure of the Visakhapatnam Airport Terminal by Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Satish Soni.

Modi, accompanied by the Chief Minister, left in a convoy for an on-the-spot assessment of some of the affected areas. He is scheduled to return to New Delhi by this evening.