WARANGAL: The state government must utilise the Rs 900 crore funds that has been sanctioned by the Centre under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to help flood victims, suggested Union minister and BJP state chief G. Kishan Reddy after inspecting Morancha village in Bhupalpally Jayashankar district on Sunday.
He said he was informed of the tragedy at the village by district BJP leader Keerthi Reddy. “I made a phone call to the district collector Bhavesh Misra. On getting to know of the details, I conveyed it to the Union home minister Amit Shah, who immediately rushed NDRF teams and a helicopter to take up rescue and rehabilitation operations in the village,” Kishan Reddy said.
On the behalf of BJP, everyday essentials are being distributed in the village and meals are being arranged for flood victims, he said. Of the Rs 4 lakh ex gratia that has been announced by the state government for family members of the deceased, the Centre’s contribution is Rs 3 lakh, he informed. Central teams will be visiting flood-affected areas in Telangana on Monday, he said. After accessing the loss, the teams will submit their report to the central government, he added.
The minister inspected the damaged fields and houses. He interacted with the flood victims and consoled the family members of Gaddam Maha Lakshmi and Gangidi Sarojana, who perished in the flood waters and then distributed daily essentials.
The villagers explained to the minister how they saved their lives braving several odds after being stuck in the floodwaters that were overflowing from Morancha vagu in the village outskirts.
Later, speaking to the media, Reddy said that it was sad to witness the horrifying scenes. The people of the village lost everything, including their cattle and other valuables. The roads were damaged, houses collapsed and vehicles washed away.
Around 325 households were rendered homeless as they were completely damaged. In such hard times, it is not good to politicise the issue. Shedding aside political ideologies everyone must come forward to help the villagers, he said.
