The Hindu Business Line : PM to tour flood-hit States

The Prime Minister, Dr Mamohan Singh, is set to visit Andhra Pradesh on Friday and make a whirlwind tour of some of the affected areas in the State and neighbouring Maharashtra and Gujarat, ravaged by recent rains.

Announcing this at a press conference here on Thursday after a review meeting, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, said that a detailed report on the overall loss in terms of crops and damage to irrigation projects would be prepared and sent to the Centre for further support.

`MEGA FLOODS'

Preliminary estimates have pegged the loss in excess of Rs 1,000 crore, but as reports are pouring in from other parts of the State, this number is set to go up significantly, he said.

Referring to the overflowing Godavari river, Dr Reddy said, "The flood fury was such that what we witnessed last week was a repeat of the Godavari floods in 1953 and 1986. In fact, after the 1986 flooding, a report was prepared to strengthen the embankments along the Godavari course."

It was estimated that it would require about Rs 480 crore to strengthen the embankments. However, the previous government spent barely Rs 80 crore. If this amount was invested and repairs made, perhaps damage in some areas could have been avoided to a large extent, he said.

Given the current costs, it would require about Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,200 crore to take up these works. The State would request the Centre to provide a part of these funds and the rest would be raised by the State. These works would be taken up at the earliest, he said.

NEW PROJECTS

In the backdrop of excess rains in some parts of the State, it is significant to note that some parts of the State, particularly the Rayalaseema region, have received inadequate rainfall. Therefore, the Government would continue its efforts to complete some of the major projects that would help harness the water resources better and help cover more farm lands.

FRESH THREAT

Agencies add: A fresh flood threat was looming large over parts of Andhra Pradesh as the Krishna river was in spate even as the flood level in the Godavari was receding.

The Collectors of Krishna and Guntur districts have been asked to evacuate people from low-lying areas, officials said.

Due to floods in the Bheema, a tributary of the Krishna, over 5.5 lakh cusecs of water is being released from Nagarjunasagar dam, which will increase the water levels, causing inundation of low-lying areas along the Krishna river. The toll in the floods so far has been put at 108 in Andhra Pradesh.

SURAT STILL FLOODED

Floods in the diamond city of Surat and neighbouring areas in Gujarat may have caused multimillion dollars of losses, an industry expert said. Factories and businesses remained closed for a third day.

Surat, which accounts for 75 per cent of India's diamond polishing industry, and neighboring areas of Hazira, home to Reliance Industries Ltd's chemical plant and Oil & Natural Gas Corpn's gas processing factory were affected by floods, forcing them to shut operations.

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