Visakhapatnam: After the devastation caused by Cyclone Hudhud, the port city has been hit by shortage of essential commodities with people scrambling for milk, drinking water, vegetables and petrol even as power supply is yet to be restored.
Some residents complained that they are not getting drinking water and milk. Serpentine queues were seen at petrol stations, where people have milled around for refill.
A resident pleaded with folded hands: “For people of Visakhapatnam, please give drinking water and other essential commodities. I have not seen such a worst situation in my life.”
“The drinking water and milk costing Rs 20 (each) are being sold for Rs 50 as black-marketeers are having a field day,” an angry resident said.
Visakhapatnam, a picture of destruction since the day it was hit by the cyclone that claimed 15 lives in the district, has been struggling to return to normalcy, though streets strewn with uprooted trees and branches, electric poles, cables and other rubble have been cleared to a large extent.
The Visakhapatnam airport has been damaged with passenger terminals ravaged and the roof blown away.
The fishing harbour here also bore the brunt of the cyclone fury with scores of boats getting sunk and damaged, officials said.
Asked about the complaints of shortage of essential commodities in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu termed it as an “artificial scarcity”.
“By the evening, I want to bring normalcy. By tomorrow morning, everybody should have all essential commodities, including milk, water, everything,” he told reporters in Visakhapatnam.
On the devastation unleashed by the cyclonic storm, he said, “People are in trouble, people are in distress. It’s our duty to do our best.”
The Chief Minister also appealed to the people to help in whatever way they wished, in relief and rehabilitation efforts.
“It’s a social responsibility,” he added.
