Andhra Pradesh to come up with special relief package for middle class
16 Oct 2014 3:48 AM GMT
The govt is trying to list the damage caused to the properties of people
A view of Visakhapatnam, on the fourth day after Cyclone Hudhud, on Wednesday. Power has not yet been restored to most parts of the city. People were seen charging their mobile phones at the Visakhapatnam railway station on Wednesday. (Photo: DC )
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government will come out with a special financial package for the middle-class sections of the society who have been severely affected by the cyclone , mainly in Visakhapatnam city.
Finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said the package was being worked out. The minister, who on Wednesday flew into Hyderabad in a special aircraft along with Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu to meet the RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, left for Vizag immediately after his meeting on Wednesday. The minister left by train as air services are yet to be restored in Vizag.
During an informal talk, Mr Ramakrishnudu, who along with AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, is extensively travelling and monitoring relief operations in the cyclone-hit districts, said, “Every resident of Vizag city has been affected by Hudhud in one way or the other. You cannot single out any family that has not been affected. Unlike industries and other government institutions, these middle class families do not even have insurance coverage. They need government help. The AP government is working out modalities of a special package.”
He added that individual residential and commercial buildings and apartment complexes were shaken by the storm and many buildings had developed cracks. Some buildings had even reportedly sunk by a few centimeters.
“We have to also assess the structural stability of the buildings that have developed cracks and those that shrunk,” he said.
The government is trying to list the damage caused to the properties of various sections of people. Once the list is finalised, the government will come out with a comprehensive package for the middle-class sections.
The state government team also discussed the need for strengthening the Depositors’ Protection Act by bringing in necessary amendments. “We told Mr Rajan that we were ready to amend the Act to protect the interests of small-time borrowers,” Mr Ramakrishnudu said.
He added that the RBI Governor had appreciated the comprehensive financial management system being implemented in the state finance department. Mr Rajan had also noted that the e-payment system being implemented by the AP government was a model for the entire country, the minister pointed out.
Meanwhile, Life in the cyclone- hit district of Visakhapatnam slowly seems to be limping back to normalcy. Though the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation supplied drinking water through the regular tap connections to most areas in the city on Wednesday, in few areas, women were seen collecting water from leaking GVMC pipes.
At some places heaps of food supplied by the government were seen discarded as they had become stale. As there was no power, the railway station became a hub for cell phone charging. There were many youngsters, not passengers, who were seen at the Vizag railway station lining up to charge their cell phones. Some even had laptops for charging.
Preliminary estimates suggest that the Hindustan Shipyard Ltd has suffered a loss about Rs 500 crore. HSL official K.V. Surya Rao said that roofs of the workshop had been blown off. The dry dock, hull shop, and pre-fabrication shops were also damaged in the cyclone
With Vizag becoming a difficult place to live due to the power blackout, water scarcity and broken communication links, people who can afford to stay at star hotels in the city have lodged themselves there to escape Cyclone Hudhud’s aftermath.
An official from a well-known star hotel in the city said, “Bookings by locals started a day after the cyclone hit Vizag. Many rooms have been booked by locals for indefinite number of days.” Outsiders and retired people whose children work outside, are also leaving the city.
About 150 colleges in Vizag affiliated to Andhra University have declared holidays till October 26 and about 200 schools have been closed till October 19. Employees of these institutions from other cities are also expected to leave as railway and bus routes have now opened up.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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