Guntur: Shockingly, a majority of the 123 cyclone shelters in Guntur district are damaged and unfit to provide shelter in times of need. Fortunately for the citizens, Cyclone Hudhud did not have any adverse impact on the coastal areas of the district hence the need for shelters did not arise.
However, it brought forth the danger of having damaged shelters and have sprung calls from among the people to of immediate repairs.
Guntur district has a 45-km long coastline and it is only the thought of shelters to turn to in cases of emergencies that helps the people living in coastal villages sleep well at night.
However, the shelters in Adavuladeevi, Mollagunta, Lakshmipuram, Gangadipalem, Kothapalem, Tummala, Nakashtranagar and Mrutunjayapalem of Repalle and Nizampatnam mandals are dilapidated and could collapse any time.
G. Subbulu and P. David of Kothapalem said they have become habituated to sleepless nights natural calamities due to the damaged cyclone shelters.
They said they were lucky as Hudhud did not leave a trail of destruction in their village. “If any real emergency strikes, we might have to go to others areas to seek shelter and the one in our areas has been damaged due to poor maintenance as the government did not appoint any caretakers for them,” they said.
Elders of Lakshmipuram village said that walls, doors and windows of the shelter in the village were damaged and basic facilities are absent. The shelter was built in 1977 after the Diviseema Uppena, but since then there has been no effort to maintain it, they said.
Meanwhile City Congress seeks donations for Vizag
The City Congress Committee has called upon the people, party sympathisers and activists for donations to help the victims of Cyclone Hudhud. Congress leaders on Monday reviewed the developments and decided to take part in the relief operations and extend all possible help to the victims.
Party leader K. Sivaji said that a team will visit Visakhapatnam along with relief material after collecting donations from the people. He said that they would also provide food packets and essential commodities to the cyclone victims.
