बेबाक · Editorial
After the cyclones, neighbouring States show what cooperative federalism looks like on the ground
The cyclone response across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha shows governments, institutions and donors stepping in, but ad hoc goodwill should become standing, transparent arrangements.
States beyond their borders
Some of the most instructive images from this cyclone season are of repair crews, not ruin. At the request of Andhra Pradesh's Chief Minister, Telangana has sent electricity restoration teams into its cyclone-hit neighbour to repair damaged poles and power lines amid widespread outages. South Central Railway operated a special train to Vijayawada for 1,226 passengers stranded at Kazipet after diversions caused by Cyclone Murasu, and provided food and refreshments. In Odisha, the State government has announced a special package for those affected by Cyclone Arnab, under which more than Rs 107.70 crore in cash assistance is to be paid. Disaster response is often judged only by its failures. This one deserves to be judged by what it got right, and by what remains improvised.
Ballots amid the debris
The hardest call fell to the Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission. MPTC and ZPTC polls were scheduled to proceed, with around 2.61 crore voters at 31,460 polling stations, even as the Commission reviewed the cyclone's impact. The case for proceeding is serious: postponing elections disrupts local governance, and a storm should not suspend democracy across a whole State. The case for caution is just as serious: a voter wading through floodwater, or a polling official cut off by fallen lines, does not have equal access to the ballot. Punetha said decisions on polling in cyclone-hit areas would rest on ground-level reports. That is a sensible principle, but it remains a discretionary one.
What the evidence shows
The record shows a broad mobilisation. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister conducted an aerial survey of rain-hit areas and ordered the Collectors concerned to drain stagnant rainwater and prevent disruption to road traffic. VIT University donated Rs 1 crore towards cyclone relief, with Chancellor Viswanathan calling it a moral responsibility to stand by the people of the State. In Odisha's Ganjam district, all educational institutions from elementary to higher secondary level are closed until November 7 while post-cyclone clean-up continues. These are the steps of a system that is responding. They also show where the costs land: on children out of school, on households waiting for cash, and on stranded travellers. Relief is measured by when it reaches the last affected household, not by the size of the announcement.
The verdict
This is good work, and it should be credited plainly. A State lending its restoration crews to a neighbour is federalism at its most useful. A railway zone that takes responsibility for stranded passengers is a public institution doing its job. The weakness is that too much of this depended on a request made in the moment and answered out of goodwill. Goodwill is valuable but unreliable. Odisha's assistance figure is large, but citizens cannot yet easily tell how quickly it will be paid or to whom. Discretion on polling is defensible, but discretion without published criteria invites suspicion even when it is exercised in good faith.
From goodwill to standing rules
Three steps would make the next response better. First, neighbouring States in the cyclone belt should consider a standing mutual-aid compact for power restoration that pre-identifies crews, equipment and cost-sharing, so help comes automatically rather than by request. Second, State Election Commissions should publish clear thresholds for deferring polling in disaster-hit areas, such as access, power and the safety of polling staff, before the next election falls in cyclone season. Third, the Odisha government should publish block-wise disbursement of its cyclone assistance package with dates and keep it updated, and Ganjam's authorities should announce a plan for lost school days before November 7. Recovery that is open to public view is the kind citizens trust.
Goodwill that arrives on request should become an arrangement that arrives by right, written down before the next storm rather than negotiated during it.
What this editorial rests on
Drawn from our live multi-newsroom feed — read the reporting at source.
An editorial is the considered opinion of the Aad Tak desk, argued from the sourced reporting above and written under our published persona, बेबाक. We name institutions, not parties. If we are wrong, we will say so. How we work →