Declare Telangana rain havoc national calamity: CM Revanth Reddy urges PM

HYDERABAD: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday said Telangana has been ravaged by unprecedented rains and floods in the last three days and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately release Rs 5,438 crore as temporary relief towards losses suffered by the state.
Demanding that the PM declare the situation a national calamity, the CM said thousands of houses were still under 20 feet of water and that families had lost everything — savings, certificates, ration cards, Aadhaar cards, electronic items, clothes and essential commodities."I urge PM Modi to act as a ‘peddanna' (big brother) and help Telangana. Khammam district has been affected worse than Krishna district in neighbouring AP. Crops on about 5 lakh acres have been damaged," he said.
The CM announced immediate cash assistance of Rs 10,000 per flood-affected family and sought Rs 5 lakh for construction per house under the PM Awas Yojana. He urged the PM to undertake a tour of the rain-hit areas to have a first-hand view of the destruction caused to the road network, railway lines, houses, cops and livestock. Revanth said 16 people have died in the current spell of heavy rains.
The road network suffered extensive damage with over 400 roads either getting washed away or suffering destruction with the R&B department pegging the loss at Rs 900 crore. Railway link to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu was severely hit after the tracks between Kesamudram-Intakanne and Tadla Pusapalli-Mahabubabad got washed away when the meancing flood swept through Mahabubabad and Warangal. Not only has this resulted in cancellation of 438 trains till Sept 6, but it also forced SCR to divert another 140 services. Many tanks breached and electricity poles were uprooted at several places.The CM asked Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay to immediately get central funds for Telangana. "I have explained the flood situation in Khammam, Mahabubabad and Nalgonda to PM Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi," he said.
The CM interacted with the flood-affected victims in Suryapet and Khammam districts and said Rs 650 crore would be spent on constructing a retaining wall on Munneru Vagu in Khammam.
Revanth said the state govt increased the ex-gratia amount from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for family members of the deceased, compensation from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 for cattle that died and from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 for sheep and goats which perished. He said Indiramma houses will be built for those who lost their dwellings and directed the officials to start enumeration of crop losses.
He called upon the industrialists and NGOs to come forward to extend help. In a swipe at former CM, Revanth said K Chandrasekhar Rao and his family can donate Rs 2,000 crore to help the affected people instead of trying to blame the Congress govt.
The CM asked officials to ensure no untoward incident happens in Hyderabad on account of rains and told them to be on high alert in ensuring electricity and drinking water to people. He asked police to monitor vehicular traffic and energy department officials to address power outages immediately.
The CM also told the officials to identify daily wagers and distribute rice, pulses and other essential commodities to them.