Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Friday urged the Centre to extend to Telangana the same assistance which is being provided to Andhra Pradesh for flood relief measures.
He urged the Centre to treat equally the damages caused by floods in both the Telugu states.
The Chief Minister made these requests during a meeting with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the state secretariat.
The Union Minister, who earlier made an aerial survey of flood-hit areas in Khammam district and met farmers, made it clear that parties and politics are not taken into consideration in providing assistance to people during calamities.
Revanth Reddy’s request to the Centre comes amid criticism by the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) that his government failed to get assistance from the Centre while Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had succeeded in making the Narendra Modi government provide massive assistance for rescue and relief measures in flood-hit Vijayawada and other areas.
The Chief Minister and senior officials briefed the Union Minister on the damages caused by heavy rains and floods through PowerPoint presentations and photos. The Central minister was told that as per the initial estimate, the floods caused losses of Rs 5,438 crore. The Chief Minister requested that current guidelines for releasing the National Disaster Relief Fund to the states be relaxed. He sought immediate assistance for short-term repairs and urged the Centre to provide adequate funds for permanent rehabilitation measures.
The Chief Minister told the Agriculture Minister that some districts received 40 centimetres rainfall in a single day and that the situation in the villages of the affected districts is miserable. Roads, houses and bridges were damaged and the transport came to a halt.
He also said that as an immediate assistance, the government is paying Rs 10,000 to every affected family.
Chouhan was told that crops in the flood-affected districts suffered extensive damage as agriculture fields were filled with stones and sand. The damage to railway tracks in the Mahabubabad district was also explained. Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, state Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, Revenue Minister P. Srinivasa Reddy, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari and senior officials were present.