Hyderabad: The state government has informed a central team about the damage caused by recent floods and asked for the rules to be relaxed so they can receive more help from the central government.
State Chief Secretary, Santhi Kumari, explained to the central team, led by K P Singh, that heavy rainfall recently caused severe damage in many parts of the state. She highlighted how the administration acted quickly, even though the weather alert was given at short notice, which helped reduce the loss of human life.
A six-member central team met with the Chief Secretary and other senior officials at the Secretariat on Wednesday. During the meeting, Santhi Kumari requested the central team to ease the guidelines so that the state could provide more relief to those affected. She also asked for support from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in terms of training and additional logistics for specialized teams.
The officials also discussed an ecological disaster in the Eturnagaram region, where 332 hectares of trees were lost. The central team suggested that a detailed study should be conducted to find out why this unexpected disaster occurred.
Arvind Kumar, the Special Chief Secretary for Disaster Management, gave an overview of the damage and the steps taken by the state to help those in need. He stated that the initial estimate of the damage is around Rs 5,438 crore, but further assessments are still ongoing.
Senior officials from various departments, including agriculture, roads, buildings, and animal husbandry, presented detailed reports on the damage through a PowerPoint presentation. Before the meeting, the central team viewed a photo exhibition showing the extent of the destruction caused by the floods.
The central team will now visit the flood-affected districts of Khammam and Mahbubabad to meet with those affected and discuss the situation with the local administration.
