Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) smelt a foreign conspiracy in the flooding of Godavari region as well as in other parts of the country, saying he has “gloomy” information that there might be a suspected “foreign hand” behind the cloudbursts.
They have been done in Kashmir, Leh, Ladakh and even Uttarakhand, KCR said Sunday, adding that he has the information that it is being done over the Godavari river region, too, in the southern region.
Telangana has been reeling after heavy rains for nearly a week caused flooding in several parts, including Bhadradri-Kothagudem district. The state government even shut all educational institutions, entirely last week, in the wake of heavy rains.
KCR undertook an aerial survey of rain and flood-hit areas Sunday to assess the situation. He also travelled by road to flood-hit areas in and around Kothagudem distrcit’s Badrachalam temple town and surrounding areas, which are adjoining a part of the Godavari river.
“There is this new phenomenon called ‘cloud burst.’ There are also theories that there might be some conspiracies – we are unsure how far that is true. Foreign countries, on purpose, have been creating cloud bursts in our country. In the past, it has been done in Kashmir, Leh, Ladakh and even in Uttarakhand,” the chief minister said.
“We also have gloomy information that, of late, it is being done over Godavari region too. Anyway, disturbances in climate and environment can lead to such situations and it is important to keep people safe in such situations,” he added.
Such has been the intensity of the floods this year that the bridge across the Godavari at Bhadrachalam was closed for the first time in 36 years after the water level crossed the 70-ft mark. The last time the bridge was closed was in August 1986 when the water level in the river rose to 75.6 ft.
The Telanagana chief minister also announced a Rs 1,000 crore package for a host of works including those related to relief plan in Badrachalam town, construction of residential colonies in flood prone areas and building embankments around Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple.
He also allotted Rs10,000 in financial assistance and 20 kg rice for the next two months for each of the flood-affected families. As many as 25,000 people and 7274 families have been shifted to rehabilitation camps in Badrachalam, and neighbouring Burgampadu mandal, the Chief Minister said.
Earlier in the day, KCR performed ‘Shanti Puja’ to the overflowing Godavari River while on visit to Badrachalam flood-affected areas. He noted that the Kadem dam on the Godavari tributary miraculously withstood the floods.
“It is only God’s miracle that the dam survived… The maximum capacity is about 2.90 lakh cusecs. But during this flood, it reached 5 lakh cusecs. Thankfully, there is no loss of life in spite of the heavy floods,” he said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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