CM Jagan writes to Amit Shah for Rs 1000 crore flood relief

VIJAYAWADA:  Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday sought an immediate flood relief of Rs 1,000 crore to the State. In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jagan said the torrential rains and floods caused a huge loss and urged him to send a Central team to Andhra Pradesh to enumerate the loss. 

“The rains and floods added more woes to the State, which is already financially burdened due to Covid-19. The State needs the support and hand-holding of the Centre to provide much-needed relief to the rain-affected people,’’ Jagan said.

Stating that the State experienced heavy rains from October 9 to 13 under the influence of deep depression in the Bay of Bengal, the Chief Minister said that the rains and floods paralysed normal life. Standing crops and roads were damaged and the transportation system was hit, he said.

Preliminary loss put at Rs 4,500 crore, Jagan informs Centre

Fourteen persons were killed in rain-related incidents. As per the preliminary estimates of various departments, the loss is put at Rs 4,500 crore, he said and appealed to the Centre to release Rs 1,000 crore as immediate relief. Due to the continuous rains, rivers, streams and canals are in spate. The floods caused severe damage to roads, power and infrastructure.

Also, farmers incurred a heavy loss due to crop damage during the harvesting time. Krishna received heavy inflows from upper catchment areas, causing floods in the river basin, particularly downstream of Prakasam Barrage. 

The State government had taken swift measures by shifting the people from the flood-affected areas to relief camps, the Chief Minister explained. On October 13, Polavaram in East Godavari district received the highest rainfall of 265.1 mm, followed by Katrenikona with 228.2 mm and Tallarevu with 200.5 mm. Akiveedu and Peravali in West Godavari district also recorded a heavy rainfall of 205.3 mm and 204.02 mm causing severe damage to crops, the Chief Minister said.