AP floods. AP floods: Leave no stone unturned in relief operations, CM Naidu tells officials

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has on Tuesday directed officials to further ramp up flood relief operations and leave no stone unturned in helping the victims while calling upon the general public also to extend support to those who are affected by the floods.

“We have deployed 32 officers in overseeing the rescue and relief operations and sourcing food and fruits from 10 districts to distribute to the needy. Strict action will be taken on the officials who are found to be neglecting their responsibilities in providing relief operations,’‘ Naidu told newspersons at the Collectorate of NTR district in Andhra Pradesh.

The rescue and relief operations have gained pace in Andhra Pradesh even as the Indian Air Force sent its choppers to assist the State Government. Apart from 6 choppers, 48 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are working round the clock in the relief operations, according to a note released by the AP State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) on Tuesday. 

The rescue teams shifted over 50,000 people to the rehabilitation centres by this morning and efforts to shift people from the areas which are still under flood in Vijayawada and other regions in the NTR district are still ongoing. 

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who has been visiting the flooded areas since Sunday morning is personally supervising the relief operations from the Collectorate of NTR district. A Control room, set up by APSDMA is being manned by eight senior IAS officers round the clock.

Though many areas are still water-logged, there is a sense of relief as the flood at the Prakasam Barrage has been coming down since Monday night. A high alert, however, is being maintained in the view of a fresh cyclone and heavy rainfall alert from September 5.

The Government arranged 228 boats in which boats to evacuate people from inundated areas along with 315 active swimmers in rescue operations so far. In the meanwhile, vehicular traffic resumed on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada road from Monday night following receding flood water on Garikapadu bridge on NH 65. 

The South Central Railway (SCR) has been restoring the railway track near Kesamudram (Warangal-Mahabubabad section) on a war-footing and the work is expected to be completed by this evening. On Tuesday, it cancelled 28 trains including Secunderabad- Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express apart from diverting some other services. On Monday, SCR cancelled 496 trains and diverted 152. 

With the restoration of Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway which got flooded at Garikapadu on NH 65, the road transport services have partially been restored.