VIJAYAWADA: Stating that the State government has failed miserably to handle the situation and provide relief to the flood-affected people in Vijayawada, YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has alleged that the gates of Velagaleru Regulator were lifted to avoid inundation of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s residence.
Speaking to media on Wednesday after visiting the flood-affected old RR peta in the city, the former Chief Minister said that if the gates of the regulator were not lifted, the water would have reached Polavaram Canal through diversion channel and then to Prakasam Barrage.
“In such a scenario, Naidu’s residence would had been inundated with the backwaters of river Krishna,’’ he claimed and questioned who was responsible for the lifting of gates in the midnight of Saturday.
With his residence being inundated, Naidu was staying in Collector Office and has been giving an impression that he was working overtime monitoring flood relief works, he said.
The TDP-led NDA government should provide Rs 25 lakh ex-gratia to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to each house affected by the recent floods in Vijayawada, he said and held the Chief Minister responsible for the loss of 32 lives.
“The disaster could have been avoided if the State government had acted on time,’’ he asserted and questioned Naidu’s ability in managing the crisis and sought a public apology and admit his mistakes. He failed to alert Irrigation, Revenue and Home Departments in time and is now blaming the officials, he alleged.
Comparing the situation to his own tenure as CM, Jagan recalled how his administration efficiently handled similar flood crises. He said volunteers and secretariat staff were well-prepared, and thousands of people were moved to relief camps before the floods caused significant damage and Rs 2,000 was given to each individual returning to their home.