TDP National President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has reiterated his criticism against the State government by insisting that the disaster caused by the flood in the Rayalaseema districts was indeed man made.
“The loss of nearly sixty lives in the mishap is a result of indifference, selfishness and arrogance on part of the government”, he told the media on winding up his tour of the flooded areas of Chittoor and Kadapa districts on November 25. On Annamayya project disaster, he blamed the ruling party leaders involved in sand mafia for not releasing the water on time in a bid to safeguard their equipment, resulting in the loss of precious lives. He also charged the government for not caring to visit the affected areas to fill confidence in the public.
There is a disaster manual on preventive measures during floods, alerting the public on time, shifting villagers to the relief camps, providing immediate rehabilitation and estimating the quantum of compensation. This government has failed in all fronts, he fumed. This is a State sponsored murder, where innocent lives were lost for no reason. In sharp contrast, he recollected how his government had acted on time during the Hudhud and Titli cyclones, controlling the number of deaths to less than twenty.
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Mr. Naidu demanded a judicial inquiry into the entire episode so as to nail the officials accused of negligence and fix accountability on the failed State mechanism. He said he would write to the Chief Secretary soon on this issue.