VIJAYAWADA: Several localities in Krishna Lanka are still inundated due to heavy inflows to River Krishna. Though the district administration has shifted 600 persons to a rehabilitation centre set up at Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation (IGMC) Stadium, 400 others from Krishna Lanka said they do not want to be relocated from the flood-hit areas.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Vadapalli Seethamahalakshmi (55), a flood-hit victim, and a resident of Bhupesh Gupta Nagar, said that they have been staying in that locality for almost a decade. "Our houses are flooded for the third time this monsoon. Earlier, the officials used to alert us about the floods but this time none had bothered to alert us," she said.
"We don’t want to relocate from here because in the previous year floods, television set and other valuables got damaged in my house. We suffered huge loss. This year too, we did not shift our valuables to safer location as there was no prior intimation from the officials about the floods," she added.
"For the past two days, the officials have been providing food and drinking water on a first-come and first-served basis. When questioned, the officials are stating that people residing in Bhupesh Gupta Nagar are well-off," Mahalakshmi said.
"How can the officials come to such a conclusion? Majority of the public here are daily wage labourers. We starve whenever we don’t find work? Adding to our woes, the COVID-induced lockdown also rendered many of us jobless. Previous year, the authorities concerned had taken our bank account details to provide financial assistance following the floods. But this year, no one had taken our bank account details," Mahalakshmi rued.
"We have been staying here for the past 12 years. The floods are also rendering us jobless as we have to stay back to safeguard our valuables. At present, I earn Rs 250 per day by working as a helper in a cloth store. But due to floods, I am unable to go to work," says B Madhavi, another resident.
When asked whether she was ready to relocate if the government provided an alternate housing facility, Madhavi maintained that Krishna Lanka is accessible to all parts of the city. If the government allocates houses on the city outskirts it will be difficult for us as we have to spend most of our earnings on transport. Instead of relocating us, the government should complete the construction of retaining wall on a war footing, she said.