VIJAYAWADA: YSRC chief and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday visited the flood-affected areas in Vijayawada, where he walked through knee-deep water in Ajit Singh Nagar and Yanamalakuduru. He interacted with residents facing severe difficulties due to heavy rains and floods.
Speaking to the media, Jagan described the present crisis as man-made and squarely blamed the State government for flooding Vijayawada to protect Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s residence on Karakatta from being submerged.
“They lifted locks of Velagaleru project to divert water from Budamderu from entering the Krishna river, which resulted in the submergence of several colonies in Vijayawada risking lakhs of people’s lives,” he alleged, and demanded that Naidu apologise to the people for his government’s negligence.
He criticised the coalition government for disregarding the IMD warnings of heavy rains. He found fault with the government for not creating necessary flood cushions at the upstream, which led to a massive inflow of water into the Krishna river, causing severe flooding in Vijayawada.
He stated that the government failed to take adequate measures to prevent the severe situation faced by the flood victims. He further added that had the government had properly planned for the rains, the situation wouldn’t have been this dire.
Jagan pointed out that the government had failed to provide enough boats or relief camps for the flood victims, with only six camps available for lakhs of people.
He emphasised that not a single rupee of aid was provided to the victims by the government, leaving them without food and water. Many victims were unaware of where the relief camps were located, and they were in a state of despair, he said.