HYDERABAD: Stating that the Centre stands by the people of both the Telugu states that have been ravaged by floods over the weekend, Union Minister and BJP state president G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday urged the governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to send reports on the damage caused to facilitate a Central team to visit and assess the losses.
He wondered why the floods should be declared a national calamity “when the Centre was providing assistance and cooperation by releasing funds”. Kishan said that if necessary, the PM will visit the flood-affected areas.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP party office in Hyderabad, Kishan expressed regret at the loss of life and said that people in 11 districts were facing problems due to the rains.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on the flood situation and enquired about the impact of the rains on the state. He said that the Centre also sent NDRF teams to help the flood victims in Khammam and other districts.
“The Centre will periodically review the situation in AP and Telangana and the Prime Minister’s Office has directed the departments concerned to repair the damaged national highways and railway lines,” he said.
Revealing that there was a corpus of Rs 1,345 crore in the State Disaster Response Fund, the Union minister appealed to the state government to spend on relief and rehabilitation of the flood-affected people and farmers and submit the utilisation certificates to the Centre to get additional funds under SDRF.
Shah to attend Liberation Day fete: Kishan
Stating that the Centre would disburse ex gratia of Rs 3 lakh to the families of the deceased, Kishan sought clarity on whether the state government’s announcement of Rs 5 lakh compensation includes the Centre’s share. The Union minister said that BJP leaders and activists were visiting the flooded areas in the state and providing food and drinking water. He said that the Centre will also provide compensation for the cattle washed away in the floods.
He announced that the Centre has decided to organise Hyderabad Liberation Day celebrations every year and this year too, it would be held on at the Parade Ground September 17 and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be the chief guest.
He said that if the BJP comes to power, it would hoist the national flag in every village panchayat on September 17.