Cyclone-hit Vizag still without water, power

Only a few branches were providing partial services.

With essential services in disarray, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Vizag and pledged financial help of Rs 1,000 crore for the state to deal with the devastation in the coastal Andhra districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.

“I had committed to making Vizag a smart-city. The devastation that occurred is beyond imagination,” Modi said after visiting the airport and the city, both ripped apart by the storm.

The famous King George Hospital is also in shambles with authorities forced to discharge patients lodged in wards damaged by Hudhud.

Andhra chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has been camped in the city since Monday to oversee rehabilita tion efforts.

Meanwhile, the city’s two million residents have slowly started returning to normal life amid a trail of destruction all around left by the storm houses with collapsed walls or roofs blown away, roads littered with fallen trees, electric poles and traffic booths.

Several general stores opened on Tuesday, cooling food prices. Milk prices that had skyrocketed on Monday – came down as the supply was restored. Half a litre packet of milk that cost Rs70 a day before had plummeted to around Rs30 on Tuesday.

Train services resumed par tially and are expected to be fully operational from Thursday Both bus and mobile phone serv ices improved.