VIJAYAWADA: Holding the TDP-led NDA government responsible for floods to Yeleru, YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday said the State government failed to take preventive measures despite early warnings for heavy rains. Terming the floods in the district as man-made, Jagan lashed out at Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for the mismanagement of the Yeleru Reservoir.
During his visit to the flood-affected villages of Madhavapuram, Nagulapalli, and Ramanakkapeta in Pithapuram constituency of Kakinada district, the former Chief Minister interacted with villagers and enquired about the losses they suffered due to the severe flooding caused due to heavy inflows to the Yeleru Reservoir.
While speaking to mediapersons in Ramanakkapeta village, Jagan raised concerns over the State government’s handling of the flood situation in Kakinada district. He alleged that neither review meetings were held nor special officers were appointed to manage the crisis.
Further, he questioned the poor management of Yeleru Reservoir, which has a capacity of nearly 23 TMC.
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He sought to know why the government failed to take appropriate action when the Reservoir was receiving inflows of 9,950 cusecs on September 1.
“Excess water should have been released earlier as the downstream canal can handle up to 14,000 cusecs of water. However, only 300 cusecs of water was released, even when the inflows increased by 5,400 cusecs by September 4. This lack of action led to the reservoir reaching full capacity by September 9, leaving no buffer for further inflow. On September 10, 25,270 cusecs of water was released, far exceeding the canal’s capacity and resulting in severe flooding downstream,” he said.
Jagan further criticised Naidu for blaming him for every issue in the State, even four months after forming the government. He also criticised the government’s promise of extending Rs 10,000 per acre as compensation for crop loss and sought to know how the amount would be given without support systems like RBKs (Rythu Bharosa Kendras), e-cropping, crop insurance, or other mechanisms in place.