The major PSU industrial units here, including the Visakhapatnam steel plant and the two ports – Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram – were at a standstill on Wednesday. Officials are still making efforts to revive them and bring them back to normal.
The losses suffered by each industry has not been enumerated yet, but apart from production loss, they have suffered heavy infrastructure loss.
Ajay Jain, State Energy Secretary, said here on Wednesday morning that it would take at least four to five days to restore power supply and on a priority basis, the AP Eastern Power Distribution Corporation (APEPDCL) was trying to provide power to hospitals first and to the municipal corporation for water supply. “The transmission system has suffered huge damage, roughly estimated at ₹1,000 crore.
We still have not made a final estimate. The APEPDCL here has suffered at a rough estimate a loss of ₹700 crore and the AP Transco (Transmission Corporation) ₹300 crore,” he said.
Officially, there is no word from the Visakhapatnam steel plant authorities on the extent of damage or the present status but it is learnt from State Government officials that the plant suffered a loss of ₹700-750 crore at a rough estimate and the production was stopped from Sunday.
The Hindusthan Shipyard Limited (HSL) and other PSUs were in a similar position. The HSL authorities said in a press note on Wednesday that the estimated loss could be around ₹500 crore. The HPCL refinery stopped production since Sunday and power generation also came to a halt at all the four units at the Simhadri thermal station of the NTPC (each unit with a capacity of 500 MW). It is learnt that the naval establishments here also suffered a huge loss, but it is yet to be enumerated.
The IT units at Rushikonda and other places in the city are in a similar plight and even though some of them have generators, they are facing difficulty in obtaining fuel.
RINL CMD’s appeal In an appeal to the employees, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited's (Visakhapatnam Steel Plant) Chairman and Managing Director P Madhusudan said, “The plant is passing through an unprecedented situation” in the aftermath of the devastation wrought by cyclone Hudhud on Sunday and all efforts were being made to revive the operations of the plant as early as possible.
AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Steel Minister Vishnudeo Sai were apprised of the position.
He said, “The immediate concern is to restore power and water supply. Both AP Transco and PowerGrid people are working on a war-footing.
“This would help us to start our captive power generation and progressively revive other production units.”
He added, “This is the time for all of us to exhibit our grit and determination through collective efforts to quickly come back to normalcy.
“I appeal to you not to panic. I am confident that we will overcome the challenge.”