Bangalore/Hyderabad, October 4
The unprecedented floods in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have forced the state governments to appeal to the public for help in cash and kind for augmenting the relief operations. The death toll due to rain and floods in the two states rose to 169 and 37, respectively, today even though unofficial estimates put the count much higher.
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa urged the Centre to declare the floods a “national calamity” and sought Rs 10,000 crore from under the National Calamity Control Fund (NCCF). A release issued here by Karnataka Home Minister VS Acharya said “the government earnestly appealed to all the philanthropic persons, including industrialists, businessmen and all sections of the society, to donate liberally towards the (flood) relief operations”.
The appeal also requested members of the public to join the relief effort by providing new clothes, in the form of lungis, dhotis, sarees, shirts, rugs, chaddars, etc.
In identical letters sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram, Chief Minister Yeddyurappa sought Rs 10,000 crore under the NCCF for flood relief in the state. “The damages to crop and public/private property caused by the rain havoc has been unprecedented and would exceed Rs 20,000 crores,” Yeddyurappa wrote and urged the central leaders for deputing a team to make an assessment of the damages.
The Chief Minister said the monsoon was expected to be vigorous for a few more days and was likely to further intensify in the coastal districts of the state.
Home Minister VS Acharya, in a separate release, said 169 persons had lost their lives in the floods in the state. “They were either trapped in the houses, which collapsed or got washed away in flood waters,” Acharya said. He said 1.25 lakh houses had collapsed or got damaged, 3,048 cattles got washed away in the floods, which had “seriously affected” 357 villages in 16 districts of the state.
According to Acharya, 1.8 lakh people have been driven out of their homes by the floods. They have been given temporary shelter in 589 relief camps opened in 12 districts of the state.
The state government has requisitioned eight helicopters from the Indian Air Force for the relief operations. Defence personnel are conducting rescue operations with the help of these helicopters in the flood-affected districts.
Personnel from National Disaster Relief Force with 30 boats also have been deployed for rescue operations in the affected areas. Buses, trucks and light vehicles are also being used to carry relief materials to the affected areas. Food packets are being air-dropped in the affected areas. Thirty-nine (39) boats available in the districts are also being utilised for rescue operations.
The state government has ordered immediate ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh to the family of the persons who have died in the rains or floods. So far, the state government has released Rs 400 crore for relief operations.
And in Andhra Pradesh, there was no respite in sight from flood fury as authorities today continued massive evacuation of people from vulnerable areas along the course of Krishna river, which received highest inflows in the 100 year recorded history.
While the flood threat in the upper reaches of Krishna receded and the situation in the worst-affected Mahaboobnagar and Kurnool districts showed signs of improvement, the release of flood waters to the downstream areas posed the threat of submergence to several villages in Guntur, Krishna and Nalgonda districts.
Army and Navy personnel were pressed into service to assist the civilian authorities in shifting people from low-lying areas along the river course.
The Irrigation department released 10.5 lakh cusecs of water from Nagarjunasagar dam today. The water is expected to reach downstream Prakasam barriage at Vijayawada by midnight. As a result, over 50 vulnerable villages would be submerged.
In Vijayawada alone, over 1.5 lakh people would be shifted to 30 relief camps. Over 150 defence personnel and 60 trained personnel from National Disaster Management have reached various locations in the district to conduct rescue operations, Revenue Minister D Prasada Rao said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister K Rosaiah conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas. Besides, five defence helicopters were helping the local administration in dropping the food packets in the affected areas. As many as 13 IAF helicopters have been pressed into service to drop food packets and water sachets and rescue the marooned people.
So far, 4.73 lakh people have been shifted to safer places and 2.57 lakh others to 293 relief camps, the officials said.
