PM pledges funds after deadly cyclone, mobs loot aid truck
By Jatindra Dash VISAKHAPATNAM, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pledged funds for relief and reconstruction efforts along the country's cyclone-hit east coast as reports emerged of food shortages and panicked survivors looting an aid truck. Cyclone Hudhud smashed the coastline of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on Sunday, killing at least 25 people. It ripped apart tens of thousands of mud-and-thatch homes, flattened rice, banana and sugarcane plantations and snapped electricity lines. In the port city of Visakhapatnam, home to two million people, residents formed long queues outside the few ATMs, petrol stations and stores which had reopened, despite a third day without electricity. The high demand for items such as milk and drinking water, prompted some traders to hike up prices, sparking fears of shortages and some looting among cyclone survivors. Television images showed mobs climbing into a government relief truck filled with food and water packets, scrambling to offload the heavy sacks, as policemen beat them with batons. "We paid 50 rupees ($0.87) for a half litre milk packet yesterday. Its actual price is only 20 rupees," said 55-year-old labourer, V. Amarnath, carrying groceries bought at a roadside shop. Prime Minister Modi, who took an aerial survey over the area on Tuesday, announced 10 billion rupees ($160 million) to Andhra Pradesh state for aid and reconstruction. "It was the last harvest for the farmers, so there are a lot of losses for them. We'll do a proper survey of agricultural losses and on property damages," Modi told reporters. "I have full faith that we will overcome the devastation caused by the storm and very soon things will go back to normal and we will take care of all those who have suffered losses." SCALE OF DAMAGE The full scale of the damage caused by Sunday's cyclone is still not known, officials said. Hundreds of uprooted trees have blocked roads and phone lines are down, making it hard to determine how many people have been affected. The Odisha government said preliminary surveys showed about 80,000 mud-and-thatch homes have been damaged, and infrastructure such as roads, culverts and bridges need repair. Authorities in Andhra Pradesh, where at least 22 people were killed, said agricultural losses were high as winds and rains had lashed crops. Hundreds of livestock have been killed and scores of fishing boats damaged. In Tamminaidupeta, a village in Srikakulam district, Seepana Srinivasarao said his three-acre rice plantation had flooded after the cyclone's heavy rains caused a river to overflow. "I lost all my crops. Only government compensation will bring some relief for me," said Srinivasarao. Visakhapatnam's airport remained closed to commercial flights, after the roof of its main building was blown off by gusts of up to 195 kph (around 120 mph). Authorities say restoring power and telecommunications, and getting relief to affected communities was a priority. Along the coast, government workers continued to clear roads of scores of uprooted trees, mangled electricity poles and sign boards torn from buildings by storm, while helicopters dropped food and water packets to villages further inland. In rural areas, inhabitants cleared up thatch and mud debris strewn around their damaged homes and waited for help. In Chelekapalam village in Srikakulam district, food stall owners P. Ramanna and his wife P. Mangavani stood behind a table on the roadside, trying to prepare a curry in a pan on a stove. "Our stall was blown away. We found this table today lying a few metres away and opened our shop, but we are unable to prepare idli as there is no rice powder," said Ramanna, referring to a traditional type of rice cake. (Additional reporting by Nita Bhalla in New Delhi. Writing by Nita Bhalla; Editing by Katie Nguyen)
