Panel under CS to check safety of AP's reservoirs

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy announced on Friday that the government will set up a committee under chief secretary to oversee the safety of reservoirs in the state and will adopt new technology for monitoring water levels in reservoirs.

The Chief Minister said the recent heavy rains of the highest-ever intensity caused severe damage in Rayalaseema districts. There was no delay in providing assistance and officials did not hide any losses/damage.

Objecting to the remarks of Chandrababu Naidu, the CM said if he visited the flood-hit areas, it would have shifted the focus of the officials engaged in the rescue and relief activities. Hence, he did not go to such districts, but monitored the situation from his office and took steps to provide immediate aid to the flood victims.

The Chief Minister explained that he very much wanted to visit the affected districts, but the senior officials restrained him by saying it might hamper the relief works. The rescue operations were the need of the hour.

Pointing out that Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik effectively monitors such situations from his office, Jagan said an aerial survey was done by him. “Relief works are being constantly reviewed,” he said and assured the people that he would personally visit the flood-affected areas.

“All the district authorities are involved in relief works that are being supervised by ministers and elected representatives of the respective areas. All the compensations were promptly paid to the affected within a week of the damage, unlike the time of the previous (TD) government that had paid such compensation only after months.

Responding to opposition leader Chandrababu’s remark that  “the CM will come in the air and go in the air,”  the chief minister said that “it is not sensible for a leader with 40 years public life behind him to make such harsh statements.”

Jagan said the flash floods were caused due to unprecedented heavy rains in a short span of time. It led to the flooding of villages downstream of Pincha and Annamayya reservoirs on Cheyyeru following a breach to its bund, he said, and added that the government is not hiding any human loss or property loss.”

As the discharge capacity of Pincha is only 58,000 cusecs and the inflows are over 1.38 lakh cusecs, there occurred a breach at Pincha, where all the water gushed downstream to Annamayya project, the CM said.

Jagan said that the government would focus on the safety of irrigation projects in the state to avoid a repeat of incidents like the Annamayya project breach, through automation by monitoring the water flows on a real-time basis. He said the previous government neglected the projects without increasing the discharge capacity of the reservoirs and is now misleading the public by blaming their government.

The Chief Minister affirmed that the government has been providing all compensation with utmost transparency and without any scope for corruption.