Visakhapatnam hit, revenues take a dip

For Andhra Pradesh, Visakhapatnam is the main source of income. The state government earns about Rs 130 crore through Value Added Tax from business establishments in Visakhapatnam city. Apart from this, the state also gets Rs 600 crore per month from petroleum companies.

Due to Hudhud, several business establishments were damaged in the city and local businessmen have given a representation to the state government seeking some time to pay the VAT for October.

The finance department forwarded the file to the finance minister Yanamala Rama Krishnudu for his approval. Petroleum companies, however, have not yet approached the government seeking more time to pay the VAT.

Officials believe that if other business establishments are granted more time to clear VAT, the petroleum companies might approach the government. If the petroleum companies are also given extra time, the state will lose around Rs 725 crore.

The death toll due Cyclone Hudhud cyclone has gone up to 46. While the assessment of the damages and the total loss due to the storm is still in progress, the Andhra Pradesh Disaster Management Cell has released details stating that 29.67 lakh families have been affected the cyclone.

Over 6,000 kms of road networks under the state highways, panchayat raj and municipal administration have been damaged in the cyclone. On the agriculture front, a production loss of 24.14 lakh tonnes is expected.

Nearly 42,000 houses have been either totally or partially damaged. Around 200 kms of water supply lines have also been damaged.

As many as 27,041 electric poles, 7,300 transformers, 7,500 kms of low tension wires and 506 kms of high-tension wires were damaged. In addition to this, 1,526 power supply sub-stations were submerged.