The Telangana government on Thursday estimated that the recent heavy rains and floods in different parts of the state caused an extensive loss of infrastructure to the extent of ₹5,018 crore, besides claiming 22 lives.
This was projected in a representation given to the Union home minister Amit Shah by a ministerial delegation from the state headed by deputy chief minister in-charge of finance portfolio Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
The deputy CM told Shah that roads and state highways suffered heavy damages to the extent of ₹785.59 crore and electricity department ₹40.73 crore. “Among other things, there was a crop loss of ₹ 236 crore, irrigation tanks and other facilities suffered damages to the tune of ₹655.70 crore, panchayat raj and rural development installations ₹377.43 crore, medical and health facilities ₹14.84 crore, housing ₹25 crore and municipal administration infrastructure ₹1,025 crore,” he said.
Vikramarka said for urgent repairs of roads and other infrastructure facilities, the state government requires ₹1,500 crore. “In all, the loss is around ₹5,018.72 crore, as per preliminary estimates,” he said, adding that the losses might go up further once floodwaters fully recede and final assessments are completed.
State agriculture minister Tummala Nageshwar Rao told reporters in Delhi that the delegation also brought to the notice of Shah that during last year’s floods in Khammam and adjoining districts, the state had sought financial assistance of ₹11,713 crore, but no special funds were released, except routine allocations.
“This had hampered reconstruction efforts. Therefore, we urged the Centre to release ₹16,732 crore immediately – comprising both last year’s pending request of ₹11,713 crore and this year’s flood-related damages of ₹5,018 crore,” Rao said.
Between August 25 and 28, torrential rains lashed Telangana, particularly Kamareddy, Medak, Nirmal, and Nizamabad districts, resulting in severe floods. “Infrastructure in these districts has been badly damaged, and rainfall so far has been 25% above normal. In eight districts, excess rainfall ranged from 65% to 95%. With rains continuing, public and private assets, crops, livestock, and human lives have been lost,” the minister explained.
He said the state government has mobilized all available resources for relief operations. Seven NDRF teams, 15 SDRF teams, and about 100 army personnel are engaged in rescue and rehabilitation work. “Field-level monitoring helped minimize loss of life, but the damage to infrastructure has been extensive,” he said.
The minister said according to preliminary estimates, 22 people have died in the floods, while crop losses, livestock deaths, and damage to houses are still being assessed.
Vikramarka said the Union home minister responded positively to the representation and assured that a Central team would soon be dispatched to Telangana to assess the damages.
The meeting was also attended by Disaster Management Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Arvind Kumar, Finance Secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Agriculture Secretary Raghunandan Rao, and Centre-State Coordination Secretary Dr. Gaurav Uppal.
Meanwhile, chief minister A Revanth Reddy visited the flood ravaged areas of Kamareddy district in the afternoon and reviewed the situation. He appreciated the efforts of the officials for responding immediately and preventing excessive flood damages in the recent heavy rains.
“The authorities should also take immediate steps to get flood relief fund as per the norms from the centre,” the chief minister said.
He enquired the officials about the relief provided to the flood victims and instructed them to prepare plans to address the flood problems permanently in the future. He asked them to prepare an action plan for a permanent solution to prevent floods in the heavy rain hit areas.
He also asked the officials to enumerate flood damages and submit reports expeditiously.
Revanth Reddy also interacted with farmers, who poured out their woes due to loss of crops, farm fields filled with sand and the damage of their houses. The chief minister assured that the government will provide all kinds of support to the affected farmers and ordered the official to submit a detailed department- wise damages.
Stating that special funds will be released to remove piled up sand in the agriculture fields, Revanth Reddy said that compensation will also be provided for crop damages. The authorities were also ordered to prepare estimates for the damaged roads and projects and also conduct a field visit to assess the damages completely.