VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Jagan Reddy held a video conference on the Godavari flood relief measures with officials after he did an aerial survey of the flood-hit districts on Friday.
Reviewing the situation, the chief minister said a senior official would be assigned to each flood-affected district to monitor the situation and oversee relief measures. “Stay on high alert for the next 24 hours as the water inflows are likely to increase,” he told the officials.
Jagan instructed all the secretaries to consider requests of the district authorities and provide what they required on a war footing.
Jagan asked the officials to focus on evacuating people from inundated villages and those adjacent to the banks of Godavari and shift them to relief camps. Officials must be prepared with materials like sandbags to put them near ridges and floodwalls.
Provide assistance to the affected families at the rate of Rs 2,000 each along with essential items like 25kg rice, one kg dal, kits of potatoes, onions, palm oil, and also milk in the next 48 hours, he asked the officials.
Jagan allowed officials to use helicopters in emergency situations and said they must also take adequate steps for addressing the sanitation and drinking water problems. “Take all necessary precautionary measures to prevent damage and ensure that all types of medicines, including injections for snakebites, are available at PHCs, area hospitals and district hospitals. There must be generators to meet emergency situations in hospitals, he said.
The CM said priority should be accorded to avoid disruptions in the communication system by supplying diesel to cell phone towers to ensure uninterrupted service. Quality services must be provided at the relief camps for all the flood victims, he said.
Chief secretary Sameer Sharma appointed special officers for all the five flood-affected districts. Karthikeya Misra would take care of Alluri Seetharama Raju district, Arun Kumar East Godavari district, Muralidhar Reddy Dr. BR Ambedkar Konaseema district, Praveen Kumar West Godavari district, and Katamaneni Bhaskar Eluru district.
Apart from the chief secretary, DGP Rajendranath, director of disaster management BR Ambedkar and other senior officials were present.
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