Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy along with Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy assesses damage caused by heavy rains and floods in Rakasi Thanda village in Tirumalayapalem mandal during his visit to the flood affected areas of Telangana’s Khammam district on Sunday (September 8, 2024).
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement
Expressing concern over the widespread devastation caused by the recent heavy rain and floods in parts of Khammam district, Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy has said that it is the collective responsibility of all to come forward to the aid of flood victims.
“Many have lost their houses and all their belongings. They are struggling to come to terms with the massive destruction caused by nature’s fury,” he said after visiting the flood-affected Dhamsalapuram colony in Khammam town and Rakasi thanda, a tribal village in Tirumalayapalem mandal on Sunday (September 8, 2024).
The Union Minister was accompanied by Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and others.
The need of the hour is to implement relief measures on a war footing to provide immediate succour to the flood victims and mitigate their ordeal, he added.
The Central government will extend full support to the State in flood relief and rehabilitation efforts, he asserted, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already spoken to Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on the flood havoc in the State.
Union Minister for Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar have also conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Telangana, he noted.
The affected people are reeling under the devastating effects of last week’s floods and some are spending anxious moments with their babies in front of their damaged houses, he said referring to the agony of the flood victims.
He said several social organisations have pitched in to help the flood victims. “All should rise above politics in this hour of crisis and work together to provide succour to the flood victims,” he said.
He added that the State government has around ₹1,300 crore available with the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the funds should be utilised for implementing immediate relief and rehabilitation measures. “Funds more than ₹200 crore could not be released due to non-submission of utilisation certificates by the State government and we have already brought the matter to the notice of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” he said.
He asserted that the Centre is committed to extending all possible help to the flood-affected people of Telangana. The Central and State governments contribute funds in the ratio of 75:25% of the SDRF allocation and these funds are exclusively meant for relief and rehabilitation measures in areas affected by natural calamities.
Responding to a query, the Union Minister said SDRF funds of around ₹3,000 crore are available with the Andhra Pradesh government. The requisite funds will be released after the State governments submit a detailed report on the losses incurred by heavy rains and floods as per due process, he said.
Published – September 09, 2024 11:00 am IST
