Aila fails to cripple business

The cyclone which took on Bengal and Orissa on May 25th evening, left the
eastern coastal region paralyzed for two days.

Christened Aila, the cyclone has taken its toll on the market in the two
states, with the cyclonic trough of 250-350km in diameter and winds speeding up
to 120kmph. At least 82 people have been killed across West Bengal and over
1,800 trees uprooted in the metro.

“The cyclone set in late night on Sunday and raged on for the next day. It
was total chaos and especially Puri, Cuttak, Chandrapura and Balasore have been
severely affected. The cyclone has left the state capital devastated with
uprooted trees blocking the roads, and broken lamp-posts bringing in the fear of
short circuits and electric shocks,” said Prasant Kumar Swain of Bhubneshwar-based
Nigama Comptech and Services.

“After the cyclone, life in the city has halted for two days. Already
business has been affected by the global slowdown and the declaration of the
examination results. Now, with the cyclone setting in, we are facing not only a
chaotic situation in the state but incurring heavy losses in the trade,” Swain
added.

Across Orissa, logistics has been halted for about a week with waterlogged
areas in the upcountry regions looking forward to government relief. Also, as
employees in the stores in the region are returning home in the upcountry,
dealers are facing an employee crunch in the state.

The case is similar in West Bengal, where the state capital Kolkata is
witnessing the aftermath of Aila. For two days, nearly half of the city went
without water and electric supply with frustrated protesters across the city
resorting to mob fury and road blockades in major traffic crossings. Also,
communication across the state came to a standstill for an entire day with
Buddhadev Bhattacharya, CM of the state admitting that telephone lines has been
cut down and even mobile phone networks laying jammed all through.

“There are few customers in the shop. There is no water and electricity in
many parts of the city till day and people are resorting to road-blocks
frustrated with these problems. Also, outstation customers are not coming here
knowing the state of the city and sales has been direly hit. However, there are
no logistical problems crippling here and sufficient stocks are there in the
godowns,” said Kolkata-based Gaurav Goel of Eastern Logica.

However, compared to the scenario in Bhubaneswar, Kolkata is better off.
Speaking about the issue, Kolkata-based Chandra Prakash Shaw of Lotte Computers
stated, “Kolkata has not been direly affected by Aila. There has not been much
of an impact over the sales due to the gale and life is normal in the shop.
However, some parts of the city is still waterlogged and there is no
electricity.”

The situation is also the same in Bengal upcountry. As heavy rains battered
the hills, landslides. Darjeeling was cut off from the plains.

However, Siliguri dealers did not report any considerable damage due to the
storm.

“The road to Darjeeling and Kurseong has been blocked and the hills are
laying cut off from the Siliguri plains. However, there has not been any
considerable damage in business here due to the showers,” said Siliguri-based
Bijay Agarwal of Computer Shoppe.

Also, Hoogly, where Aila was at its worst, has been normal throughout the
week. Although dealers reported improper rescue operations worsening the
infrastructural part, they are confident that trading has not been affected.

“There have not been any issues with trading. On Monday, we had shut
ourselves against the storm and had to close early. But, next day onwards, we
did not have to suffer any business loses. Also, logistics is at a normal flow,”
said Mrinmoy Banerjee of Hoogly-based Horizon Computers.

Reinstating the statement, Pinakiranjan Banerjee of Bankura-based Galaxy
said, “The situation here is quite normal. Although in the villages, there has
been considerable damage because of the cyclone, here, business is normal. We
are having our regular customers and there are no issues or complaints regarding
flow of materials. Trading is normal here.”

Nevertheless, the cyclone Aila which had bring in havoc for Orissa and Bengal
has a positive side too. Aided by the cyclone Aila, monsoon has arrived in the
Northeast a week before its scheduled date of June 1, bringing relief to the
people exhausted with the hot and humid summers.