A team of officials from the Central government would conduct aerial survey of the flood-affected areas of the two Telugu States. The teams are likely to take up this survey on Thursday. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy met union home minister Amit Shah and explained him about the devastation. He told the Home Minister to visit the two Telugu states and extend financial support to the two state governments.
The Central government is holding review with the officials on the damage caused to the people and the crops in the two States. They have come to an understanding that damage was more in Andhra Pradesh than Telangana state.
Half of Vijayawada is still under water on the fourth day. The officials are unable to reach all those who were locked up in the waters in the remote areas. On fourth day on Thursday, the officials were able to move on the main roads and distribute food packets to the victims.
However, there are two to three lakh people caught up in the knee-deep water on the fourth day. The electricity is not restored yet. The victims are starving for food, milk, drinking water. Though helicopters are dropping the food packets, they are falling in the water or mud. People are unable to collect them from the water.
Though there is scope for the officials to move around in the boats to reach out to the victims, for some reasons it is not happening. The officials are moving in the boats only on the main roads and not going into the interiors. They have not started distribution of food packets to the victims using the boats till Thursday morning.
The state government is not using its employees to reach out to every victim in Singhnagar, Payakapuram, Rajarajeswaripet, Prakash Nagar and other parts of the city. They are left to their fate. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is camping in the NTR district collectorate for three days. His house on the banks of river Krishna was also inundated and water reached the first floor of the house.
The chief minister and the officials have gone to some parts of main areas in the boats. The chief minister had even used a bulldozer to some main parts of the inundated area, but could not go beyond. One wonders why the officials have failed to shift the victims to the relief camps when the threat alert was there on hands of the officials on August 28. They could have moved these victims along the Budameru rivulet much in advance to save them from the disaster.
