The AP Government will take all steps to mitigate the suffering of the public in the areas hit by cyclone Hudhud and priority will be given to food supply and restoration of power as soon as possible, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said here on Monday.

Addressing media here on Monday morning before leaving for Vizag, he said helicopters were being deployed to drop food packets in inaccessible places.

He said he had instructed East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur Collectors to send as many as food packets from Gannavaram and Madhurapudi airports as possible to Vizag from where senior IAS officer Sai Prasad will monitor the distribution work. “My aim is that no cyclone victim should go hungry and I instructed all the Janmabhoomi nodal officers to completely shift their activities to affected areas in all the five districts including East and West Godavari,” he said.

He said all efforts would be made to restore power and telecommunication systems in Visakhapatnam and other affected districts as soon as possible and the help of the Union Government as well as the neighbouring states was being sought in the endeavour.

During the media conference, the Chief Minister got a call from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and he explained briefly about the calamity and invited the latter to visit the affected areas.

>sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in

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