The sun shone bright, shrugging off the occasional dark cloud, after eight days of continuous heavy rain in the district as Telugu Desam president and Leader of the Opposition in State Assembly, N. Chandrababu Naidu, conducted a tour of flood-affected areas in the district on Monday.
Travelling in a car or an open top jeep, Mr. Naidu led a long convoy of cars through Anakapalle, Munagapaka, Elamanchili and Payakaraopeta mandals of the district on the narrow roads and addressed flood-affected people at several villages, where water is yet to recede from the farms or compounds of low-lying houses, assuring them that he would force the government to extend all help to them or provide the same in six months since the Telugu Desam was sure to regain power in the ensuing elections.
At Chuchukonda and Ganaparthi villages in Munagapaka mandal, among the worst affected areas of the district and where flood waters are still flowing three feet over the bridge joining the two villages, Mr. Naidu waded through the flood waters for a while at Chuchukonda and boarded a lifeboat on the advise of party leaders and security personnel to go around the villages. He assured the locals that he would ensure all possible help was given by the government.
Earlier, he reached the village travelling by road for two kilometres from M. Jagannadhapuram.
At all places, the former Chief Minister criticised the State government and Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy for failing to come to the rescue of flood victims in full scale. “The government does not exist. Only after I pulled them up, some of the Central Ministers started visiting these areas from today,” he said in oblique reference to Union Minister for Tourism K. Chiranjeevi’s visit to the area on the same day.
“The Odisha government is doing a good job. Its Chief Minister is giving 50kg rice, five litres kerosene and other commodities along with Rs.500 in cash to every family but here no help is being extended. Telugu Desam demands the State government to give 50kg rice, Rs.1,000 in cash, five litres kerosene, blankets and other needed articles, along with a compensation of Rs.25,000 per hectare for paddy crop lost and Rs.50,000 per hectare in the case of crops such as sugarcane, cotton and bananas,” Mr. Naidu said.
Everyone whose house was damaged must be given Rs.5,000 as immediate relief and be provided a house costing Rs.1.5 lakh under IAY, he added.
