Hyderabad: In one of the worst downpour episodes that lasted for a few days in this city and other parts of Telangana, 50 people died while the government put the losses from the flood at an estimated Rs 5,000 crore.
With relief works underway, the city and other affected parties began to hobble toward normalcy. A total of 50 people, including 11 from Hyderabad, were killed in rain-related incidents in the state.
Prime Minister K Chandrasekar Rao urged the Center to release Rs 1,350 million immediately for relief work and wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to this effect.
The flood situation in neighboring Karnataka worsened on Thursday with several areas in the north of the state flooded due to torrential rains and the release of water from major dams.
In Telangana, officials said that for the first time after 1916, such a large rain wave was recorded under the boundaries of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), causing several localities to submerge.
Prime Minister Rao, who reviewed the situation, ordered officials to take relief measures on the warpath.
Immediate financial assistance of five million rupees would be provided to the GHMC to carry out the relief works, according to an official statement.
He also announced compensation of five lakh rupees each to the families of the deceased. New houses would be built for those whose houses were completely destroyed, while financial assistance would be provided to those whose houses suffered partial damage.
Draining stagnant water and restoring power supply must be done on a war footing, he said.
Rao noted that a closer look at the flood situation in Hyderabad shows that residential colonies built within the tank’s full tank level (FTL) face flooding.
Appropriate measures should have been taken during the construction of the apartments to ensure that the water does not stagnate in the basements.
He directed that from now on, when granting construction approvals to apartments, there should be a regulation that establishes measures to prevent water stagnation in basements.
Authorities said 20,540 houses in 144 colonies in 72 locations in Hyderabad were flooded. Up to 35,000 families were affected.
The government opened 72 centers in Hyderabad to house the affected people. Daily meals were reserved for 1.10 lakh people.
Although the water began to recede in many flooded parts of the city, some towns remained underwater and government machinery stepped up efforts to pump water.
Heavy rains, officials said, damaged crops on 7.35 lakh acres in the state and estimated a loss of 2 billion rupees in the sector.
In Hyderabad, the body of a postman, who allegedly fell into a swirl of rainwater on Tuesday, was caught in a lake on Thursday, police said.
Efforts were underway to track down six family members who were among the nine people washed away in Bandlaguda on Wednesday after they fell into the floods, police said.
The Minister of Municipal State Administration, KT Rama Rao, son of the Chief Minister, visited different areas affected by the rain in the city, including Nallakunta, Musheerabad and Amberpet, and assured the victims that the state government would provide immediate assistance.
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