Maharashtra minister blames MP for floods; announces package

NAGPUR: As floods that left over 90,000 persons affected finally receded on Wednesday, the state’s disaster relief minister Vijay Wadettiwar blamed Madhya Pradesh (MP) for the crisis.
Talking to TOI over phone during his tour of affected areas in Chandrapur district, Wadettiwar said authorities in MP are to be blamed for the situation. “There was no intimation from the neighbouring state about the massive water being released from dams on their side. Even as there were sudden heavy rains in MP, the concerned authorities should have intimated Maharashtra about the discharge in terms of quantity. There was no official communication whatsoever,” claimed the minister.
Water released from MP led to floods in Wainganga river. The crisis worsened due to heavy rains of up to 150mm in some talukas of Vidarbha too.
Wadettiwar said he will be taking up the issue and demand action against those responsible for the losses in Maharashtra.
The minister also announced an immediate relief package for the affected districts. This includes Rs10,000 dole for all the affected families. This covers Rs5,000 each for food and clothing. “A large number of persons have lost money and belongings due to the flood. Also, as much as 1 to 1.5 lakh hectares of agriculture land has been damaged. A compensation of Rs18,000 per hectare will be granted for crop losses,” said the minister.
Another Rs95,000 will be given for completely damaged homes, the amount will vary according to the level of damage, he said.
Sources said preliminary report assessing the damage is expected to be ready in a day. The losses could have been higher had Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) not stored part of the water released from MP in Totladoh dam, said a source.
Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also toured the flood-hit area, termed that it was a man-made disaster alleging that the state government did not give timely alerts to the susceptible population. There were no alerts for as much as 36 hours, he said addressing newspersons after his tour. Fadnavis also demanded a special assistance package for the flood-affected persons.
Even though life returned to normalcy in Nagpur and Bhandara districts, some of the roads remained cut off in Gadchiroli district. A note shared by the district information officer (DIO) said four internal roads connecting Gadchiroli to Telangana and Chandrapur district remained cut-off. However, eight other roads connecting parts of the district were opened, said the note.