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Highest ever ₹400 crore donated to CM’s relief fund, says Naidu
The chief minister’s relief fund (CMRF) of Andhra Pradesh government received the highest-ever contribution of more than ₹400 crore from various sections of people to provide relief to those affected by the recent floods.
The chief minister’s relief fund (CMRF) of Andhra Pradesh government received the highest-ever contribution of more than ₹400 crore from various sections of people to provide relief to those affected by the recent floods and heavy rains in the state, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced on Wednesday.
Speaking at a programme held in Vijayawada to distribute financial aid to the flood-affected people, Naidu said the state government was depositing ₹602 crore directly into the accounts of nearly 4 lakh beneficiaries towards flood relief.
“Of this ₹602 crore, an amount of ₹400 crore has come as donations from various sections of people, including political parties, film personalities, social organisations and individuals, to the CMRF. This is an all-time record. People have responded enthusiastically to contribute ₹400 crore to CMRF. No other state would have got this much,” he said.
Stating that heavy rainfall triggered floods in Krishna river in Vijayawada and the situation aggravated by the breaches in Budameru rivulet, the chief minister said that the two rivers have never witnessed such massive floods. The flood handling capacity of the Prakasam barrage on Krishna river is 11.90 lakh cusecs and it witnessed 11.47 lakh cusecs in the first week of September.
Naidu said in the face of a calamity, people worked together with an exemplary spirit of unity. “While facing a huge calamity, we all worked together to tackle it. We undertook the relief operations with a missionary approach and handled the situation to provide succour to people,” he said.
He recalled that along with the officials, he, too, had stepped into the knee-deep slush. The officials worked with him for 11 days and made every effort to help the affected people. He said he had first visited Singh Nagar, and after speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, arranged boats and helicopters for rescue and relief operations.
CM Naidu said a large number of food packets and water bottles were distributed among the people in flooded areas. A total of 780 earthmovers were pressed into service. As many as 75,000 houses and roads to a length of 331 km were cleaned with the help of fire engines.
The CM pegged the overall loss due to the recent deluge at ₹7,600 crore, which included damage to public and private assets. As many as 47 people died in the floods and a total of 16 villages were affected. The government had paid ex gratia of ₹5 lakh each to the families of the deceased, he said.
