Apart from the huge loss of property and a few lives, cyclone Hudhud has also inflicted another crippling blow on the city, as it has taken a heavy toll on the greenery in Visakhapatnam, already one of the most polluted cities in the country.

The cyclone in a matter of hours felled so many trees and stripped others of foliage that even the local residents are shocked by the change in the landscape in many colonies. "It is terrible how our bank looks like after the cyclone havoc," said Ravi Kumar, the employee of Andhra Bank at Seethammadhara. A giant tree giving shade to the bank customers and the public for years was brought down cruelly and the bank now stands exposed, so to speak, to the public gaze.

The old buildings as well as the new ones  in Andhra University were surrounded by trees and it was one of the strong points of the university that it was located in a picturesque locale in the backdrop of the Bay of Bengal, but many of the trees are now simply gone or they are left in a sorry shape. "We can quantify the property loss but this kind of loss is more lasting, more painful, and it will take a long time to replenish the green cover," said Vice-chancellor G.S.N Raju.

Kailasa Giri, one of the popular tourist spots in the city, is now a sorry spectacle as the cyclone ravaged the hill and it may take years to bring it back to its shape. The industries in the city - Visakhapatnam steel plant, Visakhapatnam port and other public sector units and the private ones - are now engaged in a Green Vizag campaign, and it has to be pursued with greater vigour in view of the disaster. "For every tree fallen, at least two have to be planted and nurtured," said Prof. D. Siva Prasad, a retired Sanskrit professor in Andhra University.  

 

sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in

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