Andhra seeks ₹1,000 crore for immediate post-rain relief

Heavy rains lashed the temple town of Tirupati, Tirumala, Nellore, Madanapalli and Rajampet town and caused inundation of low-lying areas

The heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh last week damaged properties, infrastructure and standing crops and caused a loss of ₹6,054 crores, chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said in a letter to the Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday. At least 40 people died and another 25 were still missing, Reddy added and requested the Centre to release ₹1,000 crore for immediate relief and restoration work.

Reddy wrote to Shah that the loss to infrastructure in Adhra Pradesh was estimated at ₹6054.29 crores. (ANI Photo)

Reddy said Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore, Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa and Chittoor received an average rainfall of 11.1 cm. The normal rainfall for this time of the year is 3.2 cm between November 13 and 20, he added. “In a single day on November 19, the highest rainfall of 20 cm was recorded at Peddamandyam block in Chittoor district, followed by 19.3 cm in Galiveedu block of Kadapa district and 17.8 cm in Nallacheruvu block of Ananthapuram district,” wrote Reddy.

Heavy rains lashed the temple town of Tirupati, Tirumala, Nellore, Madanapalli and Rajampet town and caused inundation of low-lying areas. As many as 17 national and state disaster relief force teams and two helicopters were deployed for search and rescue operations.

“About 1,402 villages in 196 mandals and four towns were affected. ...324 relief camps accommodating about 69,616 have been arranged...” wrote Reddy. He added several highways, irrigation tanks, and canals got breached and damaged. Reddy wrote the Somasila reservoir in the Pennar basin received heavy inflows of over five lakh cusecs of water over 48 hours and inundated low-lying areas in Nellore and Kovvur.

“The Annamayya reservoir in Kadapa district got breached and thus a railway track between Nandaluru and Hastavaram was badly damaged causing traffic disruption on national highways. In the Nellore district, Swarnamukhi has been in the spate with heavy inflows and thus the road between Kovvur and Nellore town was submerged...”

Reddy wrote farmers were the worst affected as the crops were ready for harvest. He said the loss to infrastructure was estimated at ₹6054.29 crores. He requested the Centre to depute the Inter-Ministerial Central Team at the earliest to assess the damage caused.