4 Years Later, Hud Hud Victims Still Wait For Chandrababu’s Promised Compensation  

Lakshmipuram Cross, Vizianagaram district: I began my Padayatra today after paying tributes to one of India’s greatest sons, former President of our Republic, Dr. Abdul Kalam.

After completing the Padayatra in Gajapathinagaram, I moved into Bobbili constituency. It is a place steeped in history and is a renowned centre of arts, artistes and theatre. Its reputation for its contribution to the Carnatic classical music instrument, Veena, is known across the world and has won accolades from none other than the US President. Sadly, this reputation is beginning to suffer now. A couple I met today, Kalyani and Surya Nageswara Rao, have a daughter who was born with a deaf-mute impairment. Not knowing who to turn to, they met my father in 2008. The very evening that they met him, he ensured that a cheque of Rs.6 lakhs was issued from the chief minister‘s relief fund. After a successful operation, the girl began to speak fluently.

The contrast between how the chief minister‘s relief fund came to the help of the needy and the suffering during my father’s tenure, as opposed to the indifference and neglect of the Chandrababu Naidu regime, is obvious to all today. Only a few people get the required succour from the CM's relief fund today and as it turns out, very often, the chief minister’s cheques are not honoured, forcing people to run around his secretariat for redress. Agrigold victims from Badangi including Peddinti Ramesh met me today and told me that though they had been promised justice in two months by chief minister Chandrababu Naidu when he visited Parvathipuram in 2015, nothing has come of his assurance so far. When he visited Cheepurupalli, they wanted to meet him, but forget the interaction with him, they were pre-emptively arrested and tormented, they complained.

Chandrababu Naidu had also promised Rs.10,000 each as immediate relief and compensation to toddy workers who suffered great losses in the Hud Hud cyclone. Not a single paisa has been given to any one of them even after four years. What is worse is that when they attempted to stage a protest, they were arrested and sent to jail.

Chandrababu Naidu is now raining similar promises on victims of Titli Cyclone, they said. Yerra Babu Rao and others told me that though they would slowly recover from the losses of the cyclone which hit them, the scars of Chandrababu’s deception will remain etched in their memory forever.

Songali Sumalatha, Savitramma, Jayalaxmi, Parvathi and other women farmers met me near Laxmi Puram. They told me that the government’s negligence towards the irrigation needs of the region led to fields drying up. Without loan waivers and minimum support price, agriculture had become a serious challenge putting them in a grave crisis, they complained. It was even more ironical and painful that I had to listen to their troubles on National Women Farmers’ Day.

Here’s my poser to the Chief Minister— is it not true that even four years after the Hud Hud cyclone, promises made by you to victims of this devastating calamity have not been fulfilled? Whatever happened to your assurance of compensation to victims of the cyclone including farmers, fishermen, weavers, toddy workers, shepherds and other sections of society? Where are the houses you promised to them?