The flash floods in the Godavari, which devastated the agency areas in Bhadrachalam and Palvancha divisions in three different spells during the last one month, have not only caused widespread damage to crops and property but also snatched away livelihood of scores of flood victims mainly the Adivasis.
The extensive damage caused by the flash floods has left the flood victims in a state of deep despair.
Misery-stricken
Two misery stricken farmers had committed suicide unable to bear heavy crop losses due to floods in the first week of this month.
Although, the official sources put the crop losses at 15,711 hectares due to flood devastation, the extent of crop losses is estimated to be several times more as the enumeration process was still under way in several tribal sub-plan mandals. Cotton crops were inundated in more than 11,000 hectares in 14 flood hit mandals under both Bhadrachalam and Palvancha divisions, sources said. Even as the officials were busy in enumerating the losses, the CPI (M) and other opposition parties have come up with suggestions to help the flood victims tide over the present crisis.
A CPI (M) delegation headed by the party district secretary P. Sudarshan Rao visited the flood-hit areas in Bhadrachalam and Dummugudem mandal on Tuesday.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Sudarshan said thousands of farmers and farm labourers had lost their livelihood due to the devastation caused by the recent flash floods in the agency areas.
The petty traders of the Vista Complex in Bhadrachalam town too suffered huge losses on account of inundation of their shops during the recent floods.
The devastating floods inflicted heavy crop losses to the farmers and extensively damaged roads at many places across the Bhadrachalam agency areas. The government should take up the repair and reconstruction works under the MGNREGS to improve the badly damaged road infrastructure and provide livelihood to the flood victims, Mr. Sudarshan demanded.
It should initiate urgent steps to bail out the flood victims especially the tribal farmers, who are living in miserable conditions in the aftermath of the flood devastation, from the miseries, he said.
