Floods: AP CM Offers Ex-gratia Of Rs4 Lakh Each To Families Of Deceased

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Friday ordered immediate restoration of road traffic and electricity supply in North Andhra districts battered by heavy rains and floods.

The heavy downpour and related incidents claimed four lives across districts. One death was recorded at Kancharapalem in Visakhapatnam, two in Mandaasa of Srikakulam and one at Kurupam in Parvathipuram Manyam district.

At a high-level meeting held at the Secretariat on Friday with senior officials and district collectors of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam, Naidu reviewed the prevailing situation.

Collectors joined the meeting via video mode and briefed him on the disruptions and damage. They said the heavy inflows of floodwaters to major reservoirs were due to the torrential rains in the region as also in Odisha.

Srikakulam collector Swapnil Dinakar informed the CM that the Gotta barrage received 1.89 lakh cusecs and Thotapalli Barrage 44,000 cusecs of floodwater. Additionally, there were inflows of 1.05 lakh cusecs into the Vamsadhara river due to rain in upstream areas.

Expressing grief over the deaths, the CM announced an ex-gratia of `4 lakh each to the families of the deceased. Officials, he said, must speed up power restoration works and ensure road connectivity in the affected areas is restored soon. He wanted the agriculture department to assess crop loss due to submergence and prepare detailed reports.

Stressing the importance of effective water management, Naidu asked officials to properly utilise the floodwater from the reservoirs. The issues faced by the people must be addressed with a humane touch, he said.