Rain-battered Telangana limps back to normal, KCR asks PM Modi for relief

As rain-battered Telangana began returning to normal, the state government on Thursday announced that as many as 50 people, including 11 in Hyderabad, died in the last 48 hours and there was massive damage to properties and crops across the state.

Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who held a high-level meeting with the officials to review the situation, announced the payment of ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.

KCR, as the chief minister is known, also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that the Centre release an amount of ₹1,350 crore for immediate rehabilitation and relief works in the areas ravaged by heavy rain and flash floods in the last two days.

He declared that the tentative loss incurred by the state due to the unprecedented rains was to the tune of ₹5,000 crore. “According to estimates, standing crops in 7.35 lakh acres were inundated in floods. Assuming that at least 50 per cent of these crops were completely damaged, the loss would be around ₹2,000 crore,” he said.

The officials told the chief minister at the review meeting that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation received 31 cm of rain in a single day on Tuesday, which was the highest after 1916.

“This has resulted in inundation of several areas in and around Hyderabad, especially those in the catchment areas of various tanks. In all, 20,540 houses in 144 colonies were under the grip of rain water, affecting 35,000 families,” the officials told KCR.

While 14 houses were completely damaged, 65 houses suffered partial damages in Hyderabad, particularly in L B Nagar, Charminar, Secunderabad and Khairatabad zones. “There were heavy damages to city roads at 445 places and national highways at six locations. The GHMC has set up relief centres 72 places where more than one lakh people were provided shelter, food and drinking water,” the officials said.

Apart from the GHMC areas, the rain and floods caused destruction in 30 towns across Telangana, inundating 238 colonies and disrupting connectivity to 150 places. As many as 127 irrigation tanks breached causing a loss of around ₹50 crore to the irrigation department.

Similarly, there was massive damage to the road network in the state. There were damages to 475 panchayat roads and 112 state roads. In all, there was a loss of ₹295 crore to panchayat roads, ₹184 crore to the state roads and ₹11 crore to national highways, the officials told the chief minister.

The chief minister instructed that relief and rehabilitation steps be taken on war-footing to provide succour to the affected people. He asked the officials to provide essential commodities and blankets to each affected family. He announced immediate release of ₹5 crore to the GHMC to take up relief works.

KCR said those who had lost houses completely in the flash floods would be sanctioned new houses and those whose houses were partially damaged would be extended financial assistance for their repair.