Battered roads, toppled trucks in Puducherry

PUDUCHERRY: Cyclone Thane left a devastating trail on the Tiruchy-Villupuram National Highway and roads from Villupuram to Puducherry. This correspondent spotted thousands of trees on both sides of the road to Puducherry uprooted and blocking traffic.Banana plantations and standing crops on several acres were damaged.  At least 10 big container trailers had toppled as did many lorries. On the Villupuram High Road, not a single tree survived the impact. Electricity and communication cables were snapped.But there was enough evidence of a responsive government at work as Villupuram District Collector C T Manimekalai and her team personally supervised the rescue and clean-up operations along with top police officials. Heavy machinery like JCBs were pressed into service. Traffic policemen and Fire and Rescue Department officials helped clear the uprooted trees to make way for movement of vehicular traffic.In Puducherry, civic body workers were found clearing the uprooted trees. According to a senior official of the electricity department, it will take at least two days to restore power supply to the whole of Puducherry. Power supply was terminated as a precautionary measure. The flip side: people could not charge their mobiles and remained cut off from the rest of the world. Finally, BSNL landline services saved their day.