Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary K. Ramakrishna, after a visit to Kadapa, Anantapur, and Kurnool districts to assess flood damage, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday seeking financial assistance from the Centre to overcome the heavy loss by recognising the rain-induced damage as a ‘national disaster’.
“Four districts in Andhra Pradesh have been hit hard by heavy rains and floods on November 18 and 19, causing crop damage of over two lakh hectares. Two dams, ponds, and canals were severely damaged leading to the death of 60 persons and leaving many homeless,” Mr. Ramakrishna wrote, requesting that a Union Minister be deputed to assess the damages first-hand instead of sending a Central officers’ team to the affected areas.
In all, 1,402 villages in 196 mandals and four towns were severely affected and several highways, irrigation tanks and canals were breached or damaged in Kadapa, Chittoor, Anantapur, and Nellore districts, he wrote. The worst-affected were the farmers as crops like paddy, Bengal gram, black gram, cotton, groundnut, and sugarcane which were ready for harvesting were damaged.
The loss to the farmers has been estimated at ₹6,054.29 crore and roads measuring 1,900 km in Nellore, Kadapa, Chittoor, and Anantapur districts were damaged, the CPI leader said, adding that hundreds of houses, electricity feeders, sub-stations and distribution lines, pipelines, drains, school buildings and community centres in municipalities were also damaged.
