AP ready to tackle Vardah, says Rajappa

​Chittoor: Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister N Chinarajappa said the State government machinery was fully prepared to deal with situation arising out of cyclonic storm Vardah.

He said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had been reviewing the situation for the last four days with the district collectors of Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantapur and Nellore.

Addressing the press conference at the District Collectorate here on Monday, Chinarajappa instructed the authorities concerned to be on high alert and be ready to conduct relief operations in the wake of cyclone.

“First of all, it is most important to shift the residents of low-lying areas to safer places and provide them with basic amenities like food.

The administration should ensure that not a single life is lost due to the cyclone,” he asserted.

The Home Minister said the government had deputed IAS officers to each district for monitoring the relief operations and Irrigation department was also told to speed up the operations to prevent damage to tanks and use of rain water to increase groundwater levels.

He said the Roads and Buildings department should take steps to remove the fallen trees from time to time and ensure traffic is not affected. “SDRF (State Disaster Relief Force) teams have been deployed to the vulnerable spots besides boats to meet flood threat.

Likewise, instructions have been given to district panchayat officer and DMHOs (District Medical and Health Officers) to gear up to provide sanitation and medical services in the cyclone affected areas.

Control rooms have been opened in all tahsildar offices in the districts while Cyclone Monitoring Control centre was opened in Chittoor collectorate,” the Home Minister said.

Forests Minister B Gopalakrishna Reddy asked the district administration to be responsive and effective in tackling the situation arising out of Vardah cyclone “The Chief Minister who represents the district is very much concerned about the possible impact of the cyclone.

The official machinery should work relentlessly to ensure safety of the people,” he stressed. District Collector Siddarth Jain listed the measures taken in the district to face the cyclone, saying western parts of the district had already been witnessing heavy rains.

He said due awareness had been created among the people during the last three days on the precautions to be taken during cyclone.

ZP chairperson Girvani Chandra Prakash, district TD president G Srinivasulu, district SP G Srinivas , Joint Collector Girisha and others were present.