Minister for Civil Supplies, Food and Consumer Affairs Nadendla Manohar said the government prepared plans for strengthening and modernising the Yeleru reservoir and Budameru canals and they would be implemented sooner than later after due consultations.
Officials have pegged the estimated cost of the repairs to Yeleru reservoir around ₹1,000 crore and steps were being taken for the preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR).
Andhra Pradesh floods: Central team gets down to task; govt. pegs preliminary damage at ₹6,880 crore
Addressing media persons at the Jana Sena Party (JSP) office near Mangalagiri in Guntur district on Saturday (September 14, 2024), Mr. Manohar said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and JSP president and Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan have devoted their time and energy to mitigate the impact of the floods that wreaked havoc in Vijayawada city and succeeded in it to a large extent.
He said both the Government and people were alert following the heavy rain warning but it was well beyond all expectations.
The situation was aggravated by the sheer negligence of the condition of Budameru during the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). But, YSRCP president and former CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy made some irresponsible comments regarding the condition of Budameru and also Yeleru and the flood relief operations, he stated.
Referring to Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s statement that the flood in Vijayawada city was a man-made disaster, Mr. Manohar said it was due to the record-breaking rains and what fits that description was the Annamayya dam break that took place in 2021, when YSRCP was in power.
The YSRCP Government had not done proper review of the Water Resources Department and never made the required fund allocations for projects. Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was doing politics over floods whereas Mr. Naidu and Mr. Pawan Kalyan showed how a leader should be by being on the field when it mattered.
Mr. Kalyan donated ₹1 crore each for flood relief measures in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and ₹1 lakh each to 400 gram panchayats from his personal earnings.
Published - September 14, 2024 02:43 pm IST
