N. Chandrababu Naidu directs officials to ensure faster rescue operations

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu today directed officials to remain on high alert and ensure faster rescue and relief efforts in flood-hit Godavari districts. The Chief Minister reviewed the situation, through a video conference from his camp office here, with collectors of East Godavari and West Godavari districts as well as other officials. He asked them to distribute ten kilograms of rice to each flood-hit family. Officials informed the Chief Minister that one fisherman is suspected to have got washed away in the flood at Velerupadu in West Godavari district. Four villages under Achanta mandal in the district remain marooned.

In East Godavari district, a cause-way was breached, inundating 24 nearby villages. East Godavari District Collector Neetu Kumari Prasad said that six relief camps have been opened for 599 people in six mandals. She said the flood level remained steady until afternoon but is expected to come down late tonight. The second warning signal was issued at Dowaleswaram Barrage, she said. In West Godavari, two relief camps have been opened in six mandals, according to district Collector Katamaneni Bhaskar. During the last two days, as much as 137 tmc ft of water from Godavari was discharged into the Bay of Bengal.

The Chief Minister asked district authorities to take steps on a war footing to strengthen canal bunds that were found weak, so as to prevent breaches. He also asked the officials to enumerate crop losses after the flood receded. Since there is a threat of further floods during the season, Chandrababu suggested that the district administration continue to remain alert. Chief Secretary I Y R Krishna Rao and other officials also attended the conference.
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