AP: Naidu conducts aerial survey of rain-hit districts, reviews drought situation with Central team
Amaravati, Nov 4 (TNT) : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday conducted an aerial survey of Guntur, Bapatla and Prakasam districts and directed officials to take immediate measures to clear waterlogging in several affected areas.
During a subsequent review meeting at the Real Time Governance Society (RTGS), the Chief Minister instructed district collectors to ensure that road traffic was not disrupted and that people faced minimum inconvenience due to heavy rains.
He directed officials to clear waterlogging in Karamchedu, Kothapatnam, Chirala, Chilakaluripet and Parchur.
Officials informed him that heavy rainfall was continuing in tribal areas of Eluru district, including Buttayagudem, Velerupadu, Polavaram, Jeelugumilli and Koyyalagudem. Minor irrigation tanks in some areas were overflowing, the Eluru District Collector reported.
Earlier, Naidu met the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), which visited drought-affected districts to assess crop losses and the hardships faced by farmers.
The team members, who toured Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur and Sri Sathya Sai districts in two groups on November 2 and 3, briefed the Chief Minister on their findings.
Naidu said while coastal Andhra Pradesh was facing the impact of cyclones, Rayalaseema and several other regions were reeling under severe drought due to deficient rainfall and El Niño conditions.
He said the state had received significantly below-normal rainfall this year, resulting in extensive damage to Kharif crops.
The situation was particularly serious in Rayalaseema, where farmers were facing shortages of irrigation water, drinking water and fodder. Anantapur district had recorded the second-lowest rainfall in the country, he added.
The state had declared 388 mandals across 21 districts as drought-affected and submitted a preliminary report seeking Central assistance.
A detailed report on the drought situation would be submitted to the Centre within a week, he said.
Seeking additional support for drought-hit farmers, Naidu requested the Central team to recommend increasing the minimum guaranteed employment under the VB-G RAM G scheme to 200 days and permitting its utilisation for agricultural activities.
He said the move would help address farm labour shortages and provide additional employment in rural areas.
He also sought consideration of dry ration cards for eligible drought-affected families to enable them to obtain essential commodities at subsidised prices.
Pointing to the decline in groundwater levels and the failure of additional borewells in several areas, the Chief Minister sought Central assistance for expanding the Jal Jeevan Mission and strengthening rural water management through development and interlinking of water resources.
Naidu urged the Centre to ensure early settlement of crop insurance claims and release of input subsidies to farmers who suffered losses due to drought. He also sought assistance for rescheduling agricultural loans to provide relief to affected farmers.
Stressing the need for long-term solutions, he called for priority to drinking water supply and fodder availability, as drought conditions had affected livestock and rural livelihoods as well.
The Central team said it would submit its assessment report to the Union Government within 15 days based on field inspections, interactions with farmers and information provided by the state government.
Naidu appealed to the Centre to extend special assistance to Andhra Pradesh, which was simultaneously facing drought in several regions and cyclone-related damage in coastal districts.
TNT KM
