A.P. seeks Rs. 100 cr. for now

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, AUG. 25. The death toll due to heavy rain and floods in the State rose to 105 today while receding waters ``everywhere'' brought cheer to the administration as it facilitated speeding up of relief and rescue operations. A Central team, headed by the Union Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Nitish Kumar, will be visiting the State on Saturday to assess the damage; the State Government, on its part, has sought Rs. 100-crore assistance immediately pending a complete appraisal.

According to the Commissioner for Relief, Mr. Bhaskar Prasad, there were no reports of any epidemic outbreak so far. However, the situation in Cuddapah, Kurnool, Guntur, Nalgonda and Hyderabad city has been causing concern as desilting and debris removal operations are yet to begin.

The Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, visited the flood- ravaged areas in Guntur district. He told reporters that immediate relief would be announced in a day or two.

The district-wise break-up of deaths is: Prakasam (4), Guntur (34), Warangal (4), Karimnagar (1), Krishna (3), Cuddapah (3), Medak (9), Kurnool (7), Khammam (1), Nalgonda (8), Ranga Reddy (6), Hyderabad (20) and Nellore (5), officials said.

About 40,000 people have been evacuated and sheltered in 200 relief centres. About 150 teams are working to rescue people from low-lying areas. Army helicopters and boats continued to be deployed in Hyderabad for the second day. The former were mainly used to drop food packets and water sachets to stranded people in the heart of the city.

Initial estimates said as many as 1,440 houses were fully damaged and 1,204 houses partly damaged and 292 villages affected. In all 571 medical and para-medical teams are on the job. Nearly 500 minor irrigation and Panchayat Raj tanks had breached and more than 90,000 hectares of crop damaged due to floods and inundation.

National Highways suffered heavy damage with 412 roads being cut off and electrical installations such as sub-stations, distribution transformers and transmission lines suffered extensive damaged. Many villages and towns are still reeling under darkness. In Hyderabad alone more than 200 roads have been damaged and seepage to Tank Bund has been causing concern. A high-level team was deputed to assess the damage to the bund and Mr. Naidu visited the spot.

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