Telangana seeks Rs 16,732 crore Central aid for rain damage, assured inter-ministerial team visit

New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and sought Rs 16,732 crore Central assistance to overcome damage caused by heavy rains and floods in the state.

Vikramarka, accompanied by state Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswar Rao and special representative of the Telangana government in New Delhi A P Jithender Reddy, told Shah that the state had earlier sought Rs 11,713 crore in assistance for damage caused by heavy rains in Khammam and surrounding districts.

"However, except for routine allocations, no special funds were released so far. This hampered rehabilitation works," Vikramarka said, demanding an additional Rs 5,018 crore. This takes the total Central assistance sought by the state to Rs 16,732 crore.

Shah responded positively to the request and assured that a Central inter-ministerial team would soon be deputed to Telangana to assess the damages, according to an official statement.

The deputy chief minister informed Shah that unprecedented rainfall during August 25-28 caused severe floods in Kamareddy, Medak, Nirmal and Nizamabad districts, leading to large-scale devastation and damage to infrastructure.

Rainfall recorded this monsoon season has been 25 per cent above normal, with eight districts recording excess rainfall ranging between 65 per cent and 95 per cent.

"Continuous rains have caused heavy loss to government and private properties, crops, livestock and human lives," Vikramarka said.

The state government has mobilised all available resources for relief measures. Seven NDRF teams, 15 SDRF teams, and around 100 Army personnel are actively engaged in rescue and relief operations, with field-level monitoring helping to minimise loss of human lives.

"However, in the last 72 hours, the intensity of the rains severely damaged roads, railway tracks, culverts, electric poles, transformers, and other infrastructure, disrupting normal life across the state," Vikramarka said, appealing to the Union Home Minister to declare this a national disaster.

The delegation also requested that a Central government team visit the flood-affected areas and assess the damage first-hand.

According to preliminary estimates, 22 people have lost their lives so far in rain-related incidents. Loss of livestock, crop damage, and house damages are still being assessed, he said. PTI LUX LUX RUK RUK RUK