Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting that the Union government immediately grant Rs 2,250 crore for repair and restoration work in the aftermath of the heavy rains and floods last week. The Chief Minister said that as per preliminary estimates, Andhra Pradesh suffered damage to the tune of Rs 4,450 crore due to the heavy rains that lashed the state from October 9 to 13 and the consequent flooding.
Roads and power installations suffered severe damage, while standing crops in thousands of acres were destroyed, the Chief Minister pointed out, adding that a total of 14 people were killed in rain-related incidents.
"We have suffered badly due to rains\floods in August and September and the fresh spell has caused further damage. In this situation, the Union government should stand in support of the state. We urgently need at least Rs 1,000 crore as advance to undertake relief works on a war-footing and restore normalcy," the Chief Minister said.
He also requested the Union government to send its team to the state to assess the exact damage.
"We have suffered heavily because of COVID-19. And now nature's fury has worsened our state," Jagan noted.
He shared the rain statistics with the Union Minister, saying, "Island Polavaram in East Godavari district received a maximum rainfall of 265.1 mm, followed by Katrenikona (228.2 mm) and Tallarevu (200.5) on Tuesday. Likewise, Akiveedu and Peravali in West Godavari district received 205.3 mm and 204 mm rainfall respectively.
"With the continuous rains, rivulets and streams were flooded, resulting in severe damage to roads, power supply and infrastructure. Also, the farmers suffered a grave loss with massive crop damage during the harvesting season, losing all of their income," he observed.
In addition to the downpour, Prakasam barrage in Vijayawada on Krishna river received massive inflows of floodwaters, following heavy rains in the upstream catchment areas, such as Maharashtra and Telangana states.
"The state government had taken swift measures by shifting the people from the flood-affected areas to relief camps providing all the necessary help," Reddy added.
With IANS and PTI inputs