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Rescue efforts in Vijayawada, September 1, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Hyderabad: The two Chief Ministers of the Telugu states—Andhra Pradesh and Telangana—urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the floods in the region as national calamities and immediately release an interim relief fund.
In Andhra Pradesh, authorities declared five more deaths in Vijayawada on Tuesday. While the authorities are yet to establish the identity of the deceased, with the latest deaths declared on Tuesday, the total death toll in Andhra Pradesh due to floods has gone up to 20. In Telangana, one more death has been reported, and the total death toll now stands at 17.
While a total of 37 deaths have been reported from both states due to incessant floods triggered by rains, many are still reported missing. Rescue operations are in full swing in both Khammam in Telangana and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, where the impact was dire.
In Vijayawada, in a majority of areas, people endured floods for a third consecutive day on Tuesday. Even though flood waters receded in most areas of Khammam, citizens continue to face difficulties in returning to their regular routines.
The restoration of power supply is still pending in many areas of Vijayawada. Government efforts to supply essentials like milk and food packets are being hampered due to a lack of proper planning and also dereliction of duties by staff. Earlier, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had suspended an officer who was in charge of relief and rescue operations in a couple of areas near Jakkampudi for negligence at work.
High-profile visits from politicians, ministers, and VIP movements are also severely disrupting relief operations. Police were seen running around to enforce VVIP protocols and struggled to clear routes, traffic, and coordination between officials and field staff during inspections.
Relief has yet to reach many areas. “It's been two days, and no one has reached out to us from the government. We continue to live amid flood waters. The boats that were deployed to evacuate us have been collecting money from us. Administration has utterly failed,” lamented a person in Andhra Prabha colony in Vijayawada.
Telangana pegged the overall loss at Rs 5,428 crore, while Andhra Pradesh is still assessing the damage. The Eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam has deployed Indian Navy aircraft, flood relief teams (FRTs), and diving teams to enhance the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts in Andhra Pradesh.
Around four helicopters and one Dornier aircraft for search and rescue (SAR) operations have been deployed as well. So far, 22 stranded people have been rescued, and more than 1,000 kg of food has been airdropped for stranded individuals by the Indian Navy teams. Additional naval assets and rescue teams with requisite gear have been kept on standby to provide assistance, if necessary.
Apart from helicopters, drones for flood relief have been deployed. Marut Drones, a Hyderabad-based drone technology company, has been delivering food, medicines, and drinking water to residents stranded in their homes due to severe flooding in Vijayawada.
In collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh Drone Corporation, Marut is operating under its Drone as a Service division, making 200 deliveries per hour and impacting 4,000 to 5,000 flood-affected individuals. The company has deployed 10 drones for this rescue operation.
“During these challenging times, our drones are making a critical difference by reaching areas that manual aid struggles to access. By providing food, medicines, and essential supplies directly to those in need, we are able to offer timely support and relief where it's most needed. Our technology is proving invaluable in navigating the floodwaters and delivering aid to the affected communities in Vijayawada," said Marut Drones, CEO and Co-Founder Prem Kumar Vislawath.
Meanwhile, the flood threat at the Prakasam Barrage is receding. Water levels have come down to 8.19 lakh cusecs from 11.43 lakh cusecs on Tuesday. Officials have lifted all 70 gates of Prakasam Barrage to discharge water into the sea.
Warns of strict action against erring officials
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy cautioned against the spread of communicable diseases in the flood-affected areas. He instructed the panchayat and municipal authorities to implement cleanliness and sanitation measures, adding that health department officials should make necessary medicines available. An ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakhs will be given to the kin of those who lost their lives due to the heavy rains.
Rs 10,000 per acre of immediate assistance will be provided to the affected farmers; Rs 50,000 will be paid for cattle loss, and Rs 5,000 will be given in case goats and sheep die. The officials of all departments have been asked to be vigilant and coordinate each other.
District collectors have been asked to take disciplinary action against officials who failed to discharge their duties. It is the government's responsibility to support people, and the officials should perform their duties, Reddy said said.
The CM also appealed to the business community, voluntary organisations, and people to come forward and support the victims.
Donations pour in
As both states grappled with flood fury, donations poured in to help in recovery.
The Telangana State Employees Association dedicated a day's worth of salary that comes to around Rs 100 crore to the state government for relief operations. Popular Tollywood actor Jr NTR has also announced Rs 50 lakh each to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Popular Tollywood director Trivikram Srinivas, producers Naga Vamsi and S Radha Krishna combined announced Rs 50 lakh to both the states, and another actor, Sidhu Jonnalagadda, too, announced Rs 10 lakh. Blockbuster movie Kalki's producer, Vyjayanthi Movies, announced Rs 25 lakh for Andhra Pradesh. Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), in collaboration with the Hare Krishna Movement, has initiated a food distribution programme, providing breakfast, lunch, dinner, and water bottles. On Tuesday, it distributed food to 1.35 lakh people at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Vijayawada. Breakfast was distributed to 25,000 people, and lunch and dinner were distributed to 1.1 lakh people.
MEIL, in collaboration with the Hare Krishna Movement, will continue the food distribution program for a few more days in Vijayawada and will increase the quantity to serve a larger number of people with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and water bottles.
Political mudslinging
As the flood fury continued to wreak havoc, political leaders traded barbs over the two state governments' responses.
BRS Working President K T Rama Rao took to X, criticising the Congress-led Telangana government for its gross negligence and delayed response during the devastating floods in the Khammam region.
“Rahul Ji, your government and CM have failed the people of Telangana and their mandate. It’s not enough to just urge action; you must ensure your government steps up in relief efforts and holds accountability for this disaster. Telangana’s vision has been shattered by your party’s neglect, and the people are losing faith with each passing day. If you truly care about Telangana as much as you claim, these many instances of gross negligence and deliberate harm wouldn’t be happening. The onus of this systematic failure is on the Congress Party! If people have to fend for themselves and pray to God for a miracle, what is the point of an elected government?” said KTR on X.
This rebuke was in response to Rahul Gandhi’s earlier tweet, in which he expressed sympathy for those affected by the floods and called upon Congress leaders and workers to mobilise resources for relief efforts. KTR further accused the Congress of shattering Telangana’s vision through systematic neglect, causing the people to lose faith in their elected leaders.
In response, Revanth Reddy, who visited the flood-affected areas, said that the government had accorded priority to people's interests. Ministers and officers have been extending help to the people from the day the state started witnessing incessant heavy rains, he said. Opposition leaders and Congress leader Sharmila are participating in relief programs in the flood-affected areas in Andhra Pradesh, Revanth Reddy said, criticising BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao for staying in his farmhouse and maintaining silence.
Reddy stated, "KTR and his friends are on a holiday trip in America." The Chief Minister also warned KTR to refrain from criticising his cabinet colleagues. Reddy said that he had already demanded the Centre to declare the floods in Telangana a national calamity and that he had requested PM Modi to visit the rain-ravaged state. The CM also questioned the main opposition leaders for not demanding that the Centre help the state in the difficult times.
In Khammam on Tuesday, unidentified persons attacked the vehicles of opposition BRS leaders T Harish Rao, P Sabitha Indra Reddy, and Nama Nageswar Rao by pelting stones. They were on their way to visit flood affected areas in Khammam. KTR condemned the attack.