VIJAYAWADA: The six-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) arrived in Vijayawada on Wednesday for a two-day visit to assess the damage caused by rains and floods. The team met higher officials of the State government at the AP State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) headquarters in Tadepalli on Wednesday and took stock of the situation. Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) RP Sisodia informed the IMCT that primary estimates of the losses have been pegged at Rs 6,880 crore.
The six-member team, led by Joint Secretary of Union Home Ministry Anil Subrahmanyam, comprised Director of Farmers Welfare of Maharashtra AL Vagmer, Chief Engineer of Surface Transport Rakesh Kumar, Finance Department Consultant RB Koul, Rural Development Deputy Secretary Pradeep Kumar and National Remote Sensing Centre (ISRO) scientist SVSP Sharma. They held a two-and-a-half hour meeting with various Heads of Departments (HoDs) of the State government.
The officials explained that 337 villages in 108 mandals of seven districts Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Guntur, Bapatla, Palnadu and Prakasam were affected. They elaborated on damage caused by the floods through a presentation and photo exhibition. The officials also highlighted the relief and rehabilitation measures implemented over the past 10 days.
Water Resources Department engineer-in-chief Venkateswara Rao explained that the extent of destruction was massive in sectors like agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, aquaculture, roads and irrigation. The IMCT was informed that the River Krishna logged record inflows due to the torrential rains that lashed Vijayawada under the influence of a low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.
One crore food packets & water bottles supplied
Pointing out that Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichintala Reservoirs, and Prakasam Barrage were filled with water, the officials explained to the Central team that Vijayawada city was marooned because of breaches to the Budameru Rivulet. Record inflows of 11.43 lakh cusecs at the Prakasam Barrage added to the plight of the people, they added.
The officials also briefed the team on how the Chief Minister, his Cabinet colleagues and bureaucrats worked for 24 hours a day to provide relief to the flood victims. They explained in detail how food and other essentials were supplied to the victims through drones and other means.
Over one crore food packets and water bottles were supplied to the flood-affected victims, the State government officials told the IMCT. Besides food and water bottles, milk, biscuit packets, candles and match boxes were also distributed to the flood victims, the officials said.
Following the meeting, the six members formed two teams. While one team inspected the damages in Guntur and Bapatla districts, the other team visited various parts of Krishna district to take stock of the situation at the ground level and interact with the farmers and other flood victims.
