CS Briefs Visiting Central Team About Damage Caused by Rain Havoc

Hyderabad: Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari on Wednesday briefed the visiting central team about the extensive damage caused in most parts of the State due to the unprecedented rainfall that occurred during the period from August 31 to September 3.

A six-member central team headed by Colonel KP Singh held discussions with the Chief Secretary and senior State government officials at Secretariat. The CS said that even though the weather alert was received at a very short notice, the administration was on high alert and swift action was taken by the State government which has resulted in less loss of human life. The Chief Minister was reviewing the situation regularly and the Deputy Chief Minister along with two other Ministers went to Khammam weathering the rains to monitor the relief and rescue operation. The government immediately released money to the district administration to take up relief measures.

The CS appealed to the central team to make the guidelines liberal so as to enable the State government to extend relief extensively. She also said that the Chief Minister had mooted specialised teams on par with NDRF to participate in rescue operations in emergency situations in the State. She sought the support of the NDMA in training and other logistics support for the specialised teams. CS also flagged the issue of air rescue operations during heavy rains which is becoming a major challenge for the administration and sought the cooperation of the centre in addressing this challenge. The massive tree felling and ecological disaster that happened in 332 hectares in Eturnagaram region was also highlighted .The central team advised to conduct a detailed study to find out the root cause for this ecological disaster which was unprecedented and never heard before.

Special Chief Secretary Disaster Management Arvind Kumar gave a brief overview of the damage caused and measures initiated by the state government to provide immediate relief to the people who are in distress. He informed that the initial estimate of the damages was pegged at Rs 5,438 crore while the actual assessment is still going on. Senior officials from agriculture, roads and buildings, municipal administration, panchayat raj, energy, animal husbandary, forest briefed the central teams about the damage caused through a power point presentation.

Earlier, the central team visited a photo exhibition where they were shown the extensive damage caused due to the rains. The central teams will tour the flood affected districts of Khammam and Mahbubabad districts and interact with those affected by the floods and will also hold talks with the district administration.