VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced immediate relief of Rs 3,000 for each family whose house was inundated in the floods due to heavy rains in the flood-hit five districts.
Approximately 1.06 lakh acres were inundated by floodwaters in East Godavari, West Godavari, Konaseema, Kakinada, Eluru, and parts of Alluri Sitarama Raju districts, the Chief Minister said during a discussion on floods in the Godavari delta region. He directed Agriculture Minister K Atchannaidu and Minister for Home and Disaster Management Vangalapudi Anitha to visit the affected areas, oversee the relief measures and assess the damage.
Naidu will be visiting New Delhi to participate in the Niti Aayog meeting. Recalling how his government had come to the rescue of the people during the Hudhud and Titli cyclones, Naidu assured all possible help from the government to the victims. “Aid will be provided beyond the stipulated norms,” he said.
The two ministers will be accompanied by ministers of the respective districts and people’s representatives, who will provide details of the loss and the amount of input subsidy needed. Preliminary estimates put the loss of paddy transplantation at 4,317 acres, maize at 3,160 acres, and cotton at 960 acres. The extent may increase once the complete enumeration of crop loss is done, he said, adding that in the East Godavari district alone, 273 acres are inundated.
Earlier, Anitha said from July 19 to 25, the State received 69.6 mm of rain against a normal rainfall of 42.9 mm, with an average rainfall of 26.7 mm. Eluru received the highest rainfall of 98.5 mm on July 19. She added that heavy rains in upper catchment areas resulted in floods in the Godavari River, affecting six Godavari delta districts, and four more districts — Srikakulam, Anakapalle, NTR, and Krishna — were also affected by heavy rains.
“A total of 526 villages in 96 mandals were affected, and 230 villages were inundated. Four people lost their lives, and 75,123 people were affected by rains and floods. A total of 82 relief camps were set up to provide relief to 13,277 people, and 271 medical camps are still functioning,” she explained.
She said 824.69 km of R&B roads and 717.9 km of Panchayat Raj Roads were affected, and 20 culverts were damaged. She said NDRF and SDRF teams were deployed, along with revenue, energy, and health department officials. “It was unfortunate that in the previous regime, disaster also happened to the disaster department. Due to non-clearance of bills, the early warning system became defunct,” she said, stressing the need to strengthen the department.