VISAKHAPATNAM : After three days since Hudhud cyclone hit Visakhapatnam, industries in the region on Wednesday started assess their losses.
Almost all major manufacturing and service firms shutdown operations due to the cyclone. All the core sectors--power, steel, fertiliser, heavy electricals, harbour, shipyard, IT, and air, rail and road transport--were hit badly by Hudhud.
There is huge loss to the poultry industry as 70 percent of the layer birds died due to the cyclone.
There are over 50,000 layer birds in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam, in total 113 poultries, of which 60 are in Visakhapatnam district. Poultry owners buried the dead birds to avoid health hazards.
According to National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) Visakhapatnam zonal chairman RK Choudhary, total 30 lakh birds died on Sunday, while another five lakh died subsequently due to various reasons, including lack of food and power supply.
“One layer bird costs about `300. All the sheds, feed stores and other infrastructure were damaged completely. The industry will take a lot of time to recoup,” Choudhary said.
Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, is also in big trouble. There is a huge financial burden on the plant as several of its establishments suffered damage. Hudhud also destroyed the entire green cover of the steel plant. The management of the RINL, as a policy, grew one tree per 1 tonne of steel production and in the last 30 years, greenery was developed in over 24,000 acres.
“The main problem is power disruption. No one can say anything about the loss immediately,” a senior official of RINL said.
India’s pride, the Hindustan Shipyard Limited, was extensively damaged in the cyclone, including its residential colonies, workshops and other establishments.
The dry dock hull shop and prefabrication workshops were hit badly. Works for restoration of power and water supply, and removal of debris are on.
The IT industry, which for the last three months has been anticipating big expansion, was also badly effected by Hudhud. Almost all the IT company buildings located in the Rushikonda IT SEZ were damaged. Not only buildings and fabricated constructions, computers and office furniture too were damaged in most of the companies. “We may replace the systems and repair buildings, but another 10 years or more time will be needed to develop the greenery,” MLA P Vishnu Kumar Raju lamented.
The management of the Hidustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) Visakh Refinery has started point-to-point checks. Officials are also assessing the loss to the refinery.
Cargo handling operations at Visakhapatnam Port were partially suspended due to the cyclone.
Some structures and berths have been damaged. Senior officials are checking the strength of berths to allow ships for the cargo handling. Rough estimations put the loss at `300 crore.