(Please click here for helplines & control room numbers for the Uttarakhand floods)Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday reviewed the rescue and relief measures for the victims of the Uttarakhand floods from Andhra Pradesh, with the Chief Secretary and CMO officials, at Secretariat.
The CM directed the Chief Secretary and senior officials to be in constant touch with Uttarakhand, and to monitor the operations to bring back all tourists and pilgrims safely.
Balaram Naik (union minister of State for Social Justice) and state ministers Danam Nagender and D Sridhar Babu are said to be briefing the CM constantly.
Officials said that so far, 1,100 people have reached AP Bhavan in New Delhi. 800 are on their way to Andhra Pradesh, of which 636 have left by train.
The affected travellers travelling by train from New Delhi belong to Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Anantapur, Samalkot, Rajahmundry, Ongole, Kavali, Nellore, Guntakal, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool. The journey has been arranged free of cost. Similar trips are being organised on Sunday as well.
It may be stated here that that 24-hour control rooms are working at Secretariat in Hyderabad, at all District Headquarters, AP Bhavan in New Delhi, and Dehradun and Haridwar (
please click here for the control room numbers and helplines). So far, about 550 calls were attended at Delhi, and 423 at the Secretariat, official reports say.
Two IAS officers - Commissioner, Disaster Management, Dr. T Radha, and Member-Secretary, A P Pollution Control Board, Sanjay Kumar - were deputed.
Two relief teams from AP Bhavan - one at Dehradun and one at Haridwar - are also on the job. ITBP, NDRF and Armed Forces have been deployed for rescue and relief operations at all affected places.
On the Chief Minister's instructions, free food, accommodation, round-the-clock medical check-up and other facilities are being provided at AP Bhavan in Delhi and TTD Kalyana Mandapam in Rishikesh.
23 helicopters are in operation to carry out the rescue and relief operations.
Free transport, including trains and buses, is being provided to the affected tourists. (INN)