KCR Urges Centre To Release Funds For Flood Relief

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao today urged the Central team that arrived in Hyderabad on November 13 to estimate crop loss due to September rains, to ask the Centre to provide adequate financial assistance immediately.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister urged the Central team led by Dilip Kumar, a joint secretary in the Union Home Ministry, to impress upon the Centre to get necessary financial assistance. The State suffered a lot due to the onset of heavy rains and it was time to get relief for those who suffered, he told the team.

The government already sought a financial assistance of Rs. 2740 crores from the Centre during a meeting between the Central team and State Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma on November 13. Dilip Kumar is understood to have assured the Chief Minister of needed cooperation and recommend to the Centre to release adequate funds.

The Chief Minister also told the team about the existence of 75,000 lakes in Telangana during the Kakatiya dynasty and how they were all "destroyed" during the united Andhra Pradesh government regimes. He also detailed to the team on how his government would revive around 46,000 lakes of the 75,000 that were lost.

He said that the works taken up under Mission Kakatiya had yielded good results and prevented lakes from breaching during the heavy rainfall last September. However there were some lakes which were not covered under Mission Kakatiya, and suffered extensive damage, destroying standing crops in several regions in the State during the heavy rains.

Apart from lakes, several roads and bridges across the State were also partially damaged or entirely collapsed. Power lines and other infrastructure were also damaged.

The CM also informed the Central team members on how the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad bore the brunt of the rainfall. He said that the government had already spent Rs. 150 crores in the twin cities for the restoration of roads, power lines and other infrastructure.

He said that a preliminary assessment put the losses at Rs. 2,704 crores, and a detailed assessment was being prepared, whose report would be sent to the Centre seeking adequate assistance.