Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday toured the flood-affected areas from Meenavolu to Pedda Gopuram in Khammam district. He took a tractor to meet the family members of Sambasiva Rao, who went missing in a stream on Saturday, and Mondru Prashanth’s family, who died in Hyderabad. He assured the family members that the government would stand by them.The deputy CM ordered officials to be on alert in districts lying along the banks of the Godavari. HYDRAA, which has been clearing encroachments so far, has been asked to prepare an action plan for the relief work. It was also asked to shift those stranded in low-lying areas to safer places. He got a helicopter from Visakhapatnam to be deployed to save those stranded in Prakashnagar, Teerthala, Valya Tanda in the Khammam district. When the helicopter could not be sent from Hyderabad in view of weather conditions, he spoke to AP chief secretary Neerab Kumar Prasad on phone and got a helicopter sent for relief in Khammam. Earlier, Bhatti Vikramarka reviewed the power situation with the officials of the Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (NPDCL), which supplies electricity to the northern districts that bore the brunt of the torrential rain. Holding the video conference from the tahsildar office in Madhira, he enjoined the superintending engineers (SEs) to ensure uninterrupted power supply in the state. He asked them to see that alternative arrangements are made to power supply owing to flooding of stations in the low-lying areas. Alerting the electricity officials, he asked them to see that they are available 24/7 as it is the department which faces maximum damage in the wake of any calamities. He asked them to ensure immediate repair of snapped power lines owing to trees falling on them and directed them to work in tandem with the collectors, police and revenue officials. They have been asked to keep additional electric poles, power cables, transformers and other material on standby. He further asked the officials to make alternative arrangements from the adjacent sub stations in case of failure to immediately restore any of them. Officials were asked to be on alert and follow the directions of the senior officials from the control room. “People should be cautious in view of the heavy rains and care should be taken by officials that those residing in old dilapidated buildings are vacated to safer places. Power and essential goods should be available to people. People can call 1912 to report on disruptions in the power situation. Officials will be punished for dereliction of duty,” Bhatti said. The Deputy Chief Minister, who also holds charge of the power department,directed NPDCL chairman and managing director Varun Reddy to keep in touch with the SEs and ensure power is restored in all areas.
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