VIJAYAWADA: Pegging the total loss due to heavy rains and subsequent floods at Rs 6,054.29 crore, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday dashed off separate letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging the Centre to provide an interim relief of Rs 1,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh and depute an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to Rayalaseema and Nellore to assess the damage.
Jagan said heavy to very heavy rains lashed southern AP under the influence of depression formed in the Bay of Bengal on November 18, which crossed the coast on November 19. “The four south coastal districts and Rayalaseema received 11.1 cm rainfall from November 13 to 20 as against the normal rainfall of 3.2 cm with an excess of 255.5%. On November 19, the highest rainfall of 20 cm was recorded in Peddamandyam mandal of Chittoor district, followed by Galiveedu in Kadapa with 19.3 cm and Nallacheruvu in Anantapur with 17.8 cm,’’ he said.Jagan added that heavy rains lashed Tirupati, Tirumala, Nellore, Madanapalle, Rajampet and other places, inundating low-lying areas.
“Inundation in the affected districts was so much that 17 NDRF and SDRF teams and two helicopters had to be deployed for undertaking search and rescue operations. In all, 40 people, including an SDRF constable, who was on a rescue operation, died and 25 people were reported missing,’’ he explained.
On relief measures taken by the State government, the Chief Minister said 1,402 villages in 196 mandals and four towns were affected and 324 relief camps were set up accommodating 69,616 rain-hit people and the relief camps are still running. Jagan said several highways, irrigation tanks and canals breached and damaged in Kadapa, Chittoor, Anantapur and Nellore districts. “Heavy inflows into the Buggavanka rivulet, which flows in the middle of Kadapa city, inundated adjacent areas. Somasila reservoir in Pennar basin received inflows of more than 5 lakh cusecs of water in 48 hours causing inundation of low-lying areas in Nellore city and Kovur,’’ he said.
The Chief Minister also said the bund of Annamayya project on Cheyyeru in Kadapa district breached, causing a trail of destruction. “Heavy rains wreaked havoc in Rayalaseema and Nellore districts. Crops in thousands of acres were damaged. Farmers were the worst affected due to rains as the crops which were ready for harvesting, were damaged. The crop damage and loss to infrastructure is estimated at Rs 6,054.29 crore,’’ he said and urged the Centre to come to the rescue of AP in the hour of crisis and release Rs 1,000 crore as an interim relief to provide aid to affected families and restore normalcy by undertaking repairs of damaged infrastructure.