Inter-Ministerial Central team tours Guntur district

Guntur: District collector S Nagalakshmi urged the Inter-Ministerial Central Team which visited Guntur district on Thursday to extend financial assistance of Rs 10,777.76 lakh to recover the losses caused by the recent heavy rains and floods in the district.

The team members-- Agriculture department director Dr AL Waghmare, Finance, expenditure department consultant RB Kaul, Rural Development deputy secretary Pradeep Kumar, district collector S Nagalakshmi, joint collector A Bhargava Teja, Tenali sub-collector Sanjana Sinha on Thursday visited heavy rains and flood affected villages in the district. Earlier, they visited the photo exhibition set up by the Public Relations Department at the Collectorate on the losses caused by the heavy rains and floods and relief camps conducted by the district administration in the district. Nagalakshmi explained the losses caused by the heavy rains and floods to the inter-ministerial Central team.

She said due to heavy discharge of floodwater, villages downstream of the river were inundated. She said people living in the low-lying areas in the flood affected villages have been shifted to safer places by helicopters. She said they have shifted 7,365 persons to the relief camps and served food to the victims.

She said seven persons died due to floods in the district. Paddy in 29,882 hectares, cotton in 2,430 hectares, all crops in 33.210 hectares were damaged and 49,961 farmers suffered losses.

Later, they visited Pedakakani mandal where Guntur channel breached and examined flood affected agriculture fields and interacted with the flood affected farmers. Weavers in Mangalagiri asked to sanction Mudra loans to them. Afterwards, they visited the Tadepalli area at Mahanadu.

District revenue officer Peddi Roja and Guntur RDO Srikar were present.