VIJAYAWADA: Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development Ponguru Narayana accused the YSRC of politicising the Vijayawada floods and misleading the public.
He said the severe flooding in Budameru was a result of gross neglect of canal maintenance works by the previous YSRC regime. Breaches occurred at three places in Budameru due to neglect, he said.
Narayana highlighted that boats were brought in flights from Chandigarh and 7,000 municipal workers were deployed for relief operations. All precautions were taken to prevent infections in flood affected areas.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu actively monitored the flood relief operations and created confidence among the people. YSRC chief and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was unable to digest the appreciation received by Naidu from people for the timely relief operations of the TDP-led NDA government, he said.
He warned that if the YSRC continues the same approach, it may not secure even a single seat in the next general elections. He mentioned that all flood relief expenses were transparently accounted for and additional details would be provided if requested via RTI.
Meanwhile, TDP MP Kesineni Sivanath (Chinni) praised Naidu’s efforts during the floods, stating that the Chief Minister personally assisted victims for 12 days and received overwhelming support from 98% of people of Vijayawada for his swift relief efforts. He alleged that Jagan spent Rs 4,878 crores on luxuries during his regime.
Earlier, the YSRC launched a hunger strike at Dharna Chowk in Vijayawada, demanding immediate compensation for the flood victims.