Naidu takes telecom companies to task

Hyderabad, Oct 16 (INN): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu chaired a high-level meeting in Visakhapatnam with the heads of telecom companies with regard to restoration of telecom lines battered by Cyclone Hudhud.

In a meeting, attended by Bharti Airtel head Sunil Mittal and other state heads of telecom companies, Chief Minister has asked telecom companies to come up with plans that charge low rates to customers in the Cyclone-hit districts of the state. In the meeting expected to be attended by heads of companies, only Bharti Airtel's Sunil Mittal was present.

Chandrababu Naidu expressed his discontent over indifferent behaviour of telecom firms who did not help the government and people in this dire situation. He has asked them to ensure that telecom companies to set up mobile charging points so that customers can charge their cellphones.

During the meeting, local executives from Idea Cellular have come forward to set up mobile charging centres. He has asked telecom companies to ensure that officials are provided 3G services so that relief and restoration works happen quickly and efficiently through communication.

Tata Company executives informed the Chief Minister that 50 per cent of the charges have been restored in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts while Uninor said it has restored 48 per cent of services.

Meanwhile, Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and Sudha Murthy of Infosys Foundation have telephoned the Chief Minister to find out about Cyclone relief work.

Further, the Chief Minister said that telcos should also have a social responsibility and cannot focus solely on profit-making. He added that if telecom service providers had responded and acted quickly to restore services, they would have been done within two days.

During an earlier meeting, the Chief Minister said that he is preparing a new plan for Visakhapatnam and added that a new design will be planned to ensure green cover is back in the city and other cyclone-hit districts.

The Chief Minister said that the state government we will rebuild Vizag from scratch, keeping in mind the risk of natural calamities. I want to instill confidence in Vizag's citizens, he said. He has asked Visakha, Sangam and Heritage Diary to lower the rate of milk by Rs 10 and sell it to people. I will not move out of Vizag until 80-90% of power is restored in this district, he added.

The Chief Minister said that we have flooded the market with vegetables and essential commodities. This has brought down the prices of vegetables, he added. This calamity has shown us how an administration needs to work efficiently and quickly.

He added that it is unfortunate for people to write-off the city and it's IT boom. We will bring it back to life, the Chief Minister said.