Cyclone Phethai: Andhra govt made 69.5 lakh phone calls to warn people

VIJAYAWADA

: Even as Cyclone Phethai was brewing in the Bay of Bengal, the AP government made a staggering 69.5 lakh telephone calls to people living in vulnerable areas, asking them to take safety precautions.


This is a record number of telephone calls ever made in India in a short span of time by any state government during an impending natural calamity. Soon after it became clear that the severe depression in the Bay of Bengal would turn into Cyclone Phethai, the Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) of the state government jumped into action to minimise the impact of the severe cyclonic storm.

The staff at the RTGS control room attached to the state secretariat at Velagapudi village in the upcoming capital city of Amaravati called people in coastal areas on their mobile phones, cautioning them about Phethai.

The

interactive voice response

system (IVRS) was put in place and a recorded message was played. In all 69,50,360 calls were made through the call centre (1100) of the Grievance Redressal Cell. The 1100 call centre also received calls from people living in seaside villages. Experts were hired to answer the questions posed by inquisitive callers.

Constant interaction with people in vulnerable areas helped in preventing loss to human life. Thousands of calls were made to about 48,000 fishermen warning them not to venture into the sea. Fishermen, who were in the sea, were warned to return to the coast.


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