An aerial view of the Vizag airport, damaged in Cyclone Hudhud
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.
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.
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