The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Manmohan, Sonia to visit tsunami-hit areas

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Manmohan, Sonia to visit tsunami-hit areas

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, DEC. 27. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and the AICC president, Sonia Gandhi, will visit the tidal wave-affected areas of the State on December 29 and 30.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, the Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, said Dr. Singh would reach the Gannavaram airport at 11 a.m, review relief works and proceed on an aerial survey of West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur districts. Ms. Gandhi would fly from Chennai to Nellore. After visiting a place in Nellore she would proceed to Prakasam.

Situation reviewed

The Chief Minister, who returned from a tour of Mypadu in Nellore and Narsapur in West Godavari and held a review meeting with officials, said the State would seek assistance from the Centre to build 20,000 houses of fishermen living in hutments in low-lying areas close to the seashore. The unit cost was expected to be Rs. 40,000 each. Along with 20,000 houses to be built by State Government, this would solve a major problem of the fishermen.

The total property and other losses mostly concerning fishermen were estimated at Rs. 32.71 crores. This included damage to 1,349 houses, 400 fish tanks, loss of 2001 fishing boats, 47,370 fishing nets, crop loss spread over 704 acres and rural roads 74. The Government was working out a compensation package for the loss of fishing nets and boats, to see that the fishermen resumed their avocation in a week's time. Repudiating the charge that the administration was lax, he said, it had responded promptly in an effective manner. He was satisfied with relief operations and he had tasted the food prepared at the relief camps. These camps would be run two more days.

Meanwhile, the toll in Sunday's tidal wave rose to 104 with the recovery of more bodies. Krishna district accounted for 35 deaths followed by Prakasam (32), Nellore (12), West Godavari (11), Guntur (10) and East Godavari (4). The casualties are not expected to increase significantly as a majority of the 810 persons reported missing were accounted for, barring 154.

Search operations continued by the Navy and the Coast Guard. The Eastern Naval Command authorities said that five ships — INS Rajput, Ranvijay, Magar, Shrabh and Sandhayak — had been pressed into operation while 10 aircraft were on rescue missions.

The situation in the tsunami-hit areas was fast returning to normal in spite of repeated warnings by the Meteorology Department about likely recurrence of tsunami. In several places, police had a tough time holding back people lodged in relief camps and even had to lock the gates at Singarayakonda. Some 12,400 persons were shifted to safer places on Sunday. In Visakhapatnam, fisherfolk offered mass prayers to appease what they felt was "an angry goddess Gangamma."

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