AP CM conducts aerial survey of rain-hit Palnadu, assures help

With heavy rains lashing Palnadu region of Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu conducted an aerial survey of the area for the second consecutive day today and promised all help from the state government.
He flew over Gurazala, Macherla and other villages in the region inspecting the damaged crops and also the overflowing rivulets and streams. Naidu landed in Dachepalli and toured the villages in the area and interacted with the locals and promised full help from his government.
The Chief Minister directed officials to ensure that all necessary relief like food and drinking water are provided to the rain-hit people.

"Don't be lax. Ensure proper distribution of relief. Even if one person complains that he did not receive any relief, I will act tough on the officers," he warned.
Standing crops, mostly paddy, chilli, and cotton, suffered extensive damage in over 41,000 hectares of Guntur district alone.
"Full-scale enumeration of the losses will be completed soon and affected farmers will be compensated under the Pradhan Mantri Phasal Bima Yojana. The state government will also give input subsidy to farmers to raise alternative crops," he said.

Naidu directed the Roads and Buildings Department to invite short-term tenders and complete repair and restoration of damaged roads within 30 days.

"You have to complete temporary repairs in three days and restore road transport," he told the officials.
Nine persons have so far died in rain-related incidents in the state - six in Guntur and three in Visakhapatnam.
Train services on Guntur-Secunderabad section, remained disrupted in last four days. The rail tracks which were washed away at some places are likely to be revived by tomorrow.
Meanwhile, 84,107 cusecs of water flowing into the K L Rao Sagar reservoir on Krishna river, upstream the Prakasam Barrage, is being discharged as the storage level remained steady at 30 tmc ft.
At Prakasam Barrage, all 70 crest gates have been lifted to discharge 1,02,272 cusecs of water into the Bay of Bengal. Inflow into the barrage was recorded at 77,954 cusecs at 3 PM today. The flood water also gushed into the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage on river Godavari at Dowlaiswaram near Rajamahendravaram.

The SAC Barrage received 2,42,368 cusecs of water and all of it is being discharged into the Bay of Bengal.