Crops worth Rs 8,633 crore damaged in Telangana floods: State government to central team
HYDERABAD: The Telangana government on Thursday informed the five-member inter-ministerial Central team, which visited flood-affected areas in Hyderabad and parts of Telangana, that the State has suffered a loss of Rs 8,663 crore due to the incessant and torrential rains.
In a power-point presentation, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar explained to the team the damage that the rains have wrought on crops and property. The team, led by Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Praveen Vasishta, also attended a photo exhibition based on the extent of the havoc caused by the floods.
Officials of the Irrigation, Municipal Administration, Roads & Buildings, Water Board, Agriculture, Energy and Panchayat Raj departments, along with those of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), interacted with the Central team and presented an overview of the loss incurred in the State.
They informed it that there was excess rainfall in the last 10 days, which resulted in flooding. Though it rained in the entire State, excessive damage has been caused in and around Hyderabad and its neighbouring districts. Breaches to three major tanks and the floods in the Musi river had inundated low-lying areas, the officials informed the team. Damage to public infrastructure has been enormous and the State government already conducted a preliminary assessment of it.
While the loss to crops has been estimated at Rs 8,633 crore, the loss to roads is around Rs 222 crore and to the GHMC around Rs 567 crore. The State government has released Rs 550 crore for immediate flood relief, the officials informed the team.
Additionally, food packets have been distributed to more than two lakh people, while one kg of bleaching powder and three lakh chlorine tablets are also being given to those affected. Fifteen sub-stations, which got submerged, were made operational within 48 hours, the officials told the team.
The five-member team, which had also visited some flood-affected areas in the Old City, comprise RB Kaul, Consultant, Ministry of Finance; K Manoharan, Director, Department of Agriculture; SK Kushwaha, SE, Transport and Highways; and M Raghuram, SE, Ministry of Water Resources.
They went around Hyderabad and inspected the flood-hit areas of Falaknuma RoB, Al Jubail Colony, Ghazi Millat Colony, Kandikal Gate Main Road, Hafiz Baba Nagar etc. They also inspected the damaged RoB at Chandrayangutta, the restoration works and the removal of debris from the nala.
The team inspected damaged roads and drains, and visited Kandikal Gate. It took a look at the restoration of the nala and Pool Bagh at Chandrayan gutta, and spoke to the victims. MP Asaduddin Owaisi apprised the members of the damage caused.
The team also visited Siddipet district, where Collector P Venkatramreddy informed it that the crop damage has been pegged at Rs 423.7 crore. The team toured the villages of Mulugu, Markook and Wargal mandals. The Collector explained the damage in the district via a photo exhibition.
KLIS an engineering marvel, says Central team
The Central team described the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) as an engineering marvel after visiting the Kondapochamma Sagar pump house and the project. Collector P Venkatram Reddy explained its functioning and how it would help farmers.
He said the pump house was built in three years and KLIS has been designed to lift water to a height of 624 m from Medigadda, which is 100 ft above sea level.