AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has asked the Telecom companies to come up with proposals to charge low rates to customers in the cyclone-hit districts of the State.
Presiding over a high-level meeting in Visakhapatnam with the heads of telecom companies with regard to restoration of telecom lines battered by Cyclone Hudhud, Naidu expressed displeasure over the “indifferent” behaviour of Telecom firms, which did not help the government and people in this hour of crisis. He asked them to set up mobile charging points so that customers can charge their cell phones.
Terming the negligent attitude of the telecom operators for not rising to the occasion as atrocious, Naidu asked the district Collector to send police to the houses of absentee telecom operators and get them arrested. He felt that the disrupted telecom services would have been restored in two days had the operators plunged into action immediately. He also asked the telecom operators whether they don’t bother about people’s problems barring profits.
During the meeting, local executives from Idea Cellular have come forward to set up mobile charging centers. The CM has asked the Telecom companies to ensure that officials are provided with 3G services so that relief and restoration works are executed quickly and efficiently through communications.
While the government expected that heads of all telecom companies would turn up at the meeting, only Bharti Airtel’s Sunil Mittal was present. Tata Company executives informed the Chief Minister that 50 per cent of the chargers have been restored in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts while Uninor said it has restored 48 per cent of its services. Meanwhile, Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and Sudha Murthy of Infosys Foundation called the Chief Minister on phone and enquired about cyclone relief work.
The Chief Minister also asked Visakha, Sangam and Heritage Diary to lower the price of milk by Rs 10 for sale to people. “I will not move out of Vizag until 80 to 90% of power is restored in the district, he added. He also said. “We have flooded the market with vegetables and essential commodities and brought down the prices. The calamity has shown us how an administration needs to work efficiently and quickly”, he added.
