Central team begins visit in Telangana to assess flood damage

Hyderabad: A Central team began a three-day visit to Telangana on Wednesday to assess the damage caused in several parts of the state due to the recent heavy rains and floods.

The six-member team headed by Col K P Singh held discussions with state Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, who briefed them on the damage.

The Chief Secretary informed the team that even though the weather alert was received at a very short notice, the administration was on the alert and swift action was taken which resulted in less loss of human life, an official release said.

She said Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy reviewed the situation regularly and that Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka along with two other ministers reached Khammam, one of the worst-hit areas, to monitor the relief and rescue operations.

The state government immediately released funds to the district administration to take up relief measures.

The Chief Secretary appealed to the Central team to relax the guidelines to enable the state government to extend relief extensively, it said.

She also informed that the Chief Minister has ordered formation of specialised teams along the lines of NDRF to participate in rescue operations in emergency situations.

She sought the support of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in training and other aspects for the specialised teams.

The ecological disaster of an estimated 50,000 trees getting uprooted on the night of August 31 following a huge gale and storm and a sudden cloud burst in the forests of Mulugu district was also highlighted, it said.

Special Chief Secretary (Disaster Management) Arvind Kumar said the initial estimates of the damage was pegged at Rs 5,438 crore, while the actual assessment was still going on.

Senior officials of agriculture, roads and buildings, municipal administration, panchayat raj and other departments briefed the Central teams on the damage through a PowerPoint presentation.

Earlier, the Central team saw a photo exhibition on the extensive damage caused due to the rains.

The Central team is scheduled to tour the flood-affected districts of Khammam and Mahbubabad districts and interact with those affected by the floods, besides speaking to the district administration.