Visakhapatnam:
Sunil Bharati Mittal was among the top telecom
executives who were sharply reprimanded today by Andhra Pradesh Chief
Minister Chandrababu Naidu. Five days after Cyclone Hudhud pounded his
state, phones aren't working in Visakhapatnam, which took the worst
beating.
Mr Naidu lost his temper and demanded "a straight answer" for what he described as their "non-performance."
"That
means you are totally commercial... you are exploiting the
government...the public," the visibly angry Chief Minister said,
according to the Press Trust of India. "My efficiency (in disaster
relief works) has gone down by 50 per cent because of the communication
gap," he was quoted as saying.
Mr Mittal is the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises; his Airtel has the most mobile subscribers in India.
Telecom
executives allegedly said their services will be restored to normal by
Saturday evening. Mr Naidu asked telecom service providers to come up
with new plans with low rates for users in the districts that were
worst-hit by the cyclone; he also said officials helping with relief
operations must be given 3G services.
Since Mr Naidu arrived on
Tuesday in Visakhapatnam or Vizag as it's known, he has been supervising
his administration's attempts to help piece back the city which is
still without power. The Chief Minister told NDTV this week that he will
"have telecom executives arrested" if he finds they are not moving fast
enough to restore connectivity.
Telecom towers were bent like
playdough by the winds that Cyclone Hudhud delivered at nearly 200 km
per hour. Nearly 40,000 electricity poles were hit.
Story First Published: October 16, 2014 18:15 IST
